Verity
by secrethalfblood
Summary: This is a continuation of a previous story! Two years has passed since Dennis went on his first mission. Since then, he's had pretty much everything going for him. At 16 he's completed several missions and is excited to return to Camp Half Blood, but as camp is thrown into chaos, a prophecy quickly brings everything crashing down around him. Can he save the people he cares about?
1. Chapter 1

**READ THIS!** If you didn't see in the description, or read my other stories, the characters in this story are from previous stories that I have written. (First Blind, then a continuation of that story). So some stuff might not make sense if you haven't already read those. If you have and are here for the new story I hope you like it! I most likely will not be able to post with the rapidity I was able to with my previous stories. I'm really busy at the moment, and I'm not as far as I usually am in a story before I post, but I wanted to at least get the first chapter up. Again, hope you like it.

~secrethalfblood

Dpov

The second I stepped off the bus I wished I hadn't.

"Why is it so humid here?" I asked in horror breathing in the muggy air. It might have been almost twenty degrees cooler here than it was back home in Arizona, but in some ways the heat in the city was almost worse.

"You know DC was pretty much a swamp before it was made into a city right?" Hannah asked pulling her long hair back into a pony tail as other people around us complained about the humidity.

"I am not built for this climate." I muttered grumpily.

"Will you relax?" she said rolling her eyes.

"You realize we're going to a giant green house right? It's going to be just as bad."

"Well if you were so averse to the idea, why did you bother coming?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

I didn't answer because it would have been awkward. This field trip was the last big trip of the year for the naturalist club at our school back home, a club I'd only joined to spend more with Hannah when we were dating. I didn't have much interest in plants, but she loved them so going to the National Botanical Garden was like her dream come true. We'd paid for the trip before we'd broken up so, here I was, stuck on a field trip I didn't really want to be on, with my ex girlfriend, who was now back to being my best friend, and I didn't know how to feel about the whole thing.

"Come on," she said as the group started moving towards the massive building.

I followed, letting my mind wander as my gaze fell on the rest of the students. I wasn't really sure how well I fit in with the rest of these kids. Most of them were underclassmen and, well, geeks. Apart from Hannah I didn't really talk to anyone in the club and if I was honest, I really didn't see me coming back next year. I already missed half the meetings for soccer practices anyways.

"Would you cheer up?" Hannah asked in exasperation and I raised an eyebrow at her. She was the only one who ever talked to me like that, except for some of my siblings. I was nearly a foot taller than her, but when she was annoyed with me she had the attitude of a person with a much more intimidating size. "We're going to one of the most beautiful places in the world and then you get to see your sister after." She continued. "Do you really expect me to feel sorry for you for being in the nation's capital, seeing some of the most exotic plants in the world, then getting to spend a whole train ride causing trouble with Thea?"

"True." I said grinning. Instead of going back to Arizona with the rest of the club, Hannah and I had gotten permission to leave for camp directly from DC with my sister and her fiancé Adam. I was really excited to have this time with Thea because ever since she'd become head of our cabin she'd been really busy. That on top of planning her wedding, and going to a really good school made it almost impossible for her to cause trouble like she used to, and I wanted to get at least some time to hang out with her before the summer was over. No one in our cabin liked to talk about it, but we knew that in a few months when she finally got married, she wasn't coming back.

It was because of this I was determined for this summer to be as much as fun as possible. I loved all my siblings but Thea had always been there for me. She was the one who taught me how to use my powers and consistently supported me, even when I'd done some pretty stupid things.

"So stop sulking." Hannah said linking her arm with mine and pulling me after the group.

My heart skipped a beat in a familiar way at the contact, but I ignored it. This was one of the many confusing things about being around her lately. The line between best friend and girlfriend seemed to have blurred. Sometimes I even forgot we weren't dating anymore.

Despite this, I let her drag me towards the building, her eyes shining with excitement. It looked like it was made out of giant bird cages stacked next together, with glass windows between the wires and from the second we stepped inside the air was damp and I could smell soil.

Hannah practically vibrated with anticipation as we waited to step into the main section of the green houses. She rattled off all the plants she knew were here and which ones she'd hoped to find. Finally, our group made it through the line and she gasped her eyes wide, looking around at what felt like an arena of flora all battling to out do each other. I had to admit the sight of it was staggering. Being from Arizona, we didn't usually get to see this much green.

Sunlight streamed the the walls and the roof, which were all made of glass, and caught the leaves of what looked like a million different species of plants. It threw the floor into shadow, and covered us in a slight emerald tinge which went well with the rest of the shades around us. Flowers were everywhere, in all shapes and colors, some climbing two stories high or winding around trees. They spilled out into the walk way narrowing the path so that we could only walk two at a time.

"Wow." She said breathlessly and I grinned. I couldn't help it. Usually she was so quiet and flowers were the only thing that got her this excited. In that excitement, several plants burst into bloom as she walked by them, and I could have sworn some even turned in her direction.

As I looked around I realized she was right. This place really was beautiful, not that I could let her know that. I knew if I told her I'd never hear the end of it.

"You're such a dork." I said looking down at her.

She didn't respond, but continued to turn looking around the light reflecting in her amber eyes and the moisture in the air causing her hair to curl even more than usual. I was so entertained by her reaction, I didn't notice the skinny boy approach until he spoke.

"Hannah, look at this Lily!" he said eagerly. "It's one of the only ones in North America."

We turned and I felt a stab of irritation go through me when I recognized Darius, the only other Junior in the club. He was tall and awkward, with glasses and curly blonde hair that seriously needed to be cut or styled, but was currently just a mess. I knew he wasn't that interested in flowers, Darius was more of an insect kind of guy, but what he was interested was Hannah. I could tell from my very first club meeting he had a crush on her, and as her best friend and her ex, I couldn't like this guy if he'd handed me a brief case full of solid gold bars.

"Yeah, we can read the plaque too." I said scowling and gesturing towards the sign in front of the Lily that had a small paragraph of information about the plant, including the oh so insightful factoid he'd just spouted at her.

Hannah shot me a look and smiled at Darius.

"Any idea what region it's from?" she asked and I knew she was just being polite. Being a daughter of Persephone, she pretty much knew everything there was about a plant just by looking at it, especially flowers. There wasn't anything he could tell her that she didn't already know and give him a book's worth of additional details.

She let go of me and I felt a little disappointed as they continued to inspect the plant together. I was lucky however, as their conversation was cut short by Mrs. Hags, one of the biology teachers at our school and sponsor of the club. She was waving her arms as she tried to get the attention of our group and we all turned towards her.

"Alright everyone." She said. She was a short, kind woman, with frizzy brown hair that was pulled back into a bandana and deep blue eyes that looked just as excited as Hannah's. "Now I know you're all excited, just remember that you have to fill out your worksheet as this trip is supposed to be educational or the school is going to get cranky. Then when you're done you can wander around as much as you like, just make sure you meet us back here by three thirty, and I don't mean three thirtyish. Thirteen people got off the bus, and I'm most definitely fired if thirteen people don't get back on it."

I raised my hand.

"Uh, Mrs. Hags."

"Yes?" she asked distractedly and I could tell she was itching to have a look around.

"Hannah and I are staying in DC."

I noticed Darius looked a little disappointed and had to resist the temptation to roll my eyes. He'd talked Hannah's ear off the whole plane ride here and I knew that he'd been hoping to get the chance to do the same on the return journey.

"Oh that's right." Hags said looking a little flustered. She was the hippie type and was never really on top of things. "Your sister's picking you up. What time will she be here? I'm supposed to confirm she shows up."

"She said she'd be here around two thirty." I said glancing at my watch. It was already one forty-five.

"Alright, just come and find me when she gets here. I'll be around." She said gesturing to the building at large.

It was really hard not to say something sarcastic, but I resisted for Hannah's sake. She wasn't being very helpful, but she was one of Hannah's favorite teachers and Hannah hated school. She was shy, and didn't have many friends other than me, but she'd come out of her shell a little in Mrs. Hags class. While my ADHD was far worse than Hannah's, she was extremely dyslexic and couldn't stand having attention drawn to her in class, but Hags had always been very nice to Hannah. I had a feeling she was the only teacher that made Hannah feel like she was smart.

"Has everyone got their worksheet?" she asked the group and there were various yeses and nods. "Alright, pair off and have fun kids."

"Ready?" Hannah asked me pulling a pencil out of her back pack as well as our work sheets and handing me mine.

"Oh. I was hoping that we could…" Darius said but his sentence faded when I looked at him. Hannah hadn't heard anyways.

"Let's go." She said happily grabbing my hand and dragging me through the leaves towards an extremely fragrant box of flowers where she immediately started to classify the different types of plants.

The next half an hour went like this, me following Hannah to wherever she wanted to go and copying her answers. Occasionally I recognized a plant we'd learned in the club or Hannah had taught me over the years, but for the most part I wasn't really learning anything.

"What's wrong?" I asked as her smile faded as she looked at a clump of drooping flowers. They were bright red, but turning brown at the edges of their petals and I saw that many had fallen off.

"I think these aren't getting enough water," she said sadly, gently lifting one of the petals with her index finger. "Look, they're dying."

"Well you could fix that." I said and she looked a bit anxious.

"There's a lot of people around." She muttered and I glanced over my shoulder to see several tourists and a couple of classmates on the path with us.

"I can distract them." I said grinning.

"Dennis I'm not sure… you shouldn't go causing trouble." she said frowning.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine." I said easily and smiling at her. "Don't you trust me?"

She hesitated but looked at the flowers sadly, then nodded.

My grin grew and I walked over to a burley man who was looking at an artfully pruned shrub with his girlfriend, easily taking his wallet from his back pocket and pocketing the bills inside. Then, knowing everyone was far too distracted with the explosion of foliage around us to notice, I tossed it carelessly on the floor several feet away, and tapped the man on the shoulder.

"What?" the guy asked looking a little annoyed to be distracted from the girl who's hand he was holding.

"Look," I said pretending to be intimidated. "I don't wanna cause a scene or anything like that dude, but I'm pretty sure that guy over there just stole all your money."

I gestured towards an equally vast man on his own, reading a sign about a pitcher plant.

"That is your wallet right?" I asked gesturing towards the leather rectangle I'd tossed right next to the second man.

"Yeah." He said indignantly. "How did you-"

"I saw him take it while you were distracted." I lied and the man's face went red with anger.

"Hey!" he shouted furiously, drawing everyone's attention as he stormed over to the second man.

I nodded to Hannah who cupped the flowers between her hands as the men started yelling, and their petals started to glow. There was a small flash in which her face was illuminated, then she released the plants.

"You know that's pretty cool." I said walking back to her as the men continued to argue and looking at the petals. "They totally brand new."

"It's nothing." She said sounding a little embarrassed.

"No it's not." I said still looking at flowers. "These things looked beyond saving. You literally reversed death."

"You make it sound a lot cooler than it is." She said scratching the back of her head awkwardly. "Flower powers aren't all that exciting. Not as interesting as you and your siblings."

"I think you're plenty interesting." I said shrugging and while she didn't look at me I could see her smile.

We walked for another ten minutes finishing out worksheets before I checked the time and realized we had to meet Thea soon. We'd just answered the last question and were about to head towards the entrance to wait for her, when a movement in the leaves next to us caught my eyes.

"Hannah?" I asked uneasily as I felt my stomach clench slightly. My battle senses were tingling.

"Yeah?" she asked distractedly. She was sketching a leaf of an ivy plant that was winding itself around a bannister.

"Do you still have my dagger?

Though she wasn't much of a fighter, I'd given Hannah the dagger Thea had stolen for me in my first week of camp. I didn't need it anymore. My father had sent me an enchanted weapon for my sixteenth birthday and I wanted her to have something to protect herself incase she ran into a monster when I wasn't around.

"Yeah, why?" she asked.

"You might need it." I said quietly. The corner of the green house we were in was deserted save for the two of us, and whatever was hissing and rustling between the leaves.

I reached for my belt, and pulled off the key chain that shaped like a miniature labrys that had been clipped to it. I felt the axe grow in my hand as I readied for a fight.

"But why-" Hannah started, but before she could even finish the question, something large and scaly shot out from between the plants straight for her. She let out a cry of shock and I quickly swung my axe.

The basilisk dropped to the floor, dead, it's poisonous body causing the floor to smoke and burn.

"We need to get out of here." I said as she drew the dagger from her book bag and looked around nervously. More leaves around us were rustling and the hissing was growing louder. "Come on!"

I grabbed her hand and dragging her through the narrow corridor created by the over spilling vegetation.

We continued to doge the monsters as they shot out at us like some twisted parody of snakes in a can.

I killed several, while trying to shield Hannah, who was not as adept at evasion as a child of Hermes, as we sprinted for the center of the gardens. The paths were widest there and easily the best place to try and fight this many monsters, but just as I'd though we were going to make it, Hannah let out a shout.

Her hand was torn from mine and I looked back in horror to see she'd tripped over a vine I'd easily stepped over, and the snakes that had been left alive were closing in on her.

Panicked, I sprinted and threw my ax, which sliced easily through the side of a flimsily made wooden arch ivy had coiled itself around. It crashed down between Hannah and the basilisks.

I pulled her up and together we made a break for it, but just as I thought we were clear, something moved in my peripheral vision.

Without thinking I pushed Hannah out of the way and turned to see fangs…

There was a flash of bronze, another hiss, and the final basilisk hit the floor as a tall figure dropped next to me, as if the girl had simply materialized in and fallen out of thin air.

"Hey bro." a familiar voice said and I was stunned to see my sister Thea grinning at me, her hazel eyes glinting in a mischievous way I found so familiar. "Who says you got to have all the fun with out me?"

"Hey!" I exclaimed excitedly as she laughed pulled me into a hug.

"You ok Hannah?" she asked as Hannah got to her feet.

"Fine." She replied looking a little shaken but unhurt. "Hey Thea."

"You know. I was just telling Adam this morning we were having relatively monster free week." Thea said as she let go of me, looking a little amused. "Guess they were all waiting for your guys's arrival."

She was twenty now and looked pretty much the same as when I'd last seen her, but her hair was shorter and instead of a camp shirt that I was used to seeing her in, she was wearing just a regular t shirt and shorts.

"Lucky us." Hannah muttered darkly. Already she was inspecting the damage done to the flora and healing whatever she could.

"Where is Adam anyways?" I asked looking around. Ever since they'd gotten engaged the couple had been almost inseparable.

"Looking for your teacher." She said sounding slightly exasperated. "She was supposed to meet us by the entrance but I think she forgot. I got the sense she wasn't the most organized person from her emails."

"She's not." I agreed. "But she's a pretty good teacher. Hannah really likes her."

"Well, we should probably get going." Thea said looking around at the many trampled plants and the collapsed archway. "This is a pretty big mess and I don't want to be around when someone spots it."

"Good thinking."

"You guys go ahead." Hannah said. "I'll catch up in a second. I'm going to try and salvage what I can."

"Alright." I said and I could tell Thea was about to ask Hannah was she was bothering, but decided against it.

She simply waited for me to grab my axe and together we shrank our weapons and walked back to the main part of the gardens.

"So, how've you been?" Thea asked and only when I saw that she looked up at me did I realize something.

"I'm taller than you." I said in amazement and she grinned.

"Well you are a guy." she pointed out. "It's not that surprising."

"But you've always been so much taller than me. It drove me nuts. It made me feel like such a little kid."

"You're still a kid."

"I'm sixteen." I said resentfully.

"You're still a baby." She said pinching my cheek.

"Thea." I snapped annoyed and she laughed.

"Dennis, you're always going to be my little brother. You could be sixty feet tall and I'd still call you a baby."

I groaned, glad Hannah wasn't here to witness this exchange. As we stepped onto the main path, I spotted Mrs. Hags with a tall young man. He had dark hair and blue eyes that were looking politely at the teacher, who was no doubt yammering on about the plants, but I could tell he wasn't taking in a word of what she said.

Being the son of Zeus, Adam could be a pretty intimidating figure if he wanted to be. In fact, I'd remembered being terrified of him the first time I'd met him. He'd saved me, two other demigods, and a satyr, from being attacked by monsters on our way to camp, and had just utterly destroyed them. But I wasn't remotely afraid of Adam anymore. Powerful he might be, it was hard to be scared of someone who pretty much did whatever your sister said. It wasn't like Thea ordered Adam around, but I could tell he was happiest when he was with her, so he pretty much just went along with whatever craziness she'd decided to get up to.

"Ah, excellent, you found each other." Mrs. Hags said as Thea and I stepped into her line of sight. "Well Dennis, now that I see your sister is in fact a real person, you are free to go."

But Adam, who'd obviously noticed what Hags had not, asked.

"Where's Hannah?"

"Here!" she called jogging out of the leaves looking slightly out of breath.

"Excellent." said Thea brightly, looking at Hannah and I when she'd caught up to us. "You guys ready?"

"Yeah." I said and Hannah nodded, looking slightly disappointed we were leaving the gardens so soon, but not complaining.

As we started to walk, Adam took Thea's hand and I instinctively reached for Hannah's but caught myself. She didn't notice, still too busy looking around the garden, but Thea did. She shot me a curious expression but I shook my head and she seemed to understand.

It was only then I realized I hadn't seen Thea since before Hannah and I broke up, she probably didn't know it had even happened.

I glanced at Hannah who was looking at the plants glumly and I knew she wanted to stay longer.

"You can always come back." I assured her. "It's not like it's going anywhere."

"Yeah I guess." She said but she still looked a little upset.

I was about to ask Thea if it was possible to hang back for a little bit, but before I could ask, Thea broke away from the conversation she'd been having with Adam and looked back at me with a grin.

"What?" I asked unable to help grinning myself. I knew that expression. Whatever was on her mind was bound to be fun.

"We've got a bit of time before our train leaves and as you know, as cabin head I'm supposed to set a good example at camp."

"So?"

"So we're not at camp." She said and I saw Adam roll his eyes. "Feel like challenging the master?"

My smile grew.

"What's the challenge?"

"I'll let you decide, just make sure it's innocuous. I think Adam and Hannah would appreciate not getting involved in the middle of a crime spree."

"Yes we would." Adam said looking at her half amused, half exasperated, and she smiled at him innocently before turning to me.

"Well, what's it going to be?"

I was about to suggest a race, I'd been speed training for soccer and thought I might just be able to take her, but when I spotted Hannah looking a water feature with Lily's floating peacefully in an artificial pond I changed my mind. She'd smiled and even the tiniest buds burst into full boom.

"Wrist bands." I said holding up my own. They'd given everyone who'd entered the gardens an orange wrist band for the day to prove they'd paid to be there. "Whoever gets the most by the time we need to head to the station wins."

"Interesting." Thea said looking at the band critically, then grinning. "Alright, you're on."

"You are so going down." I smirked and she laughed.

"If you think so my little protégé." She said then held up Adam's wrist band. "But you're already behind."

She winked and took off laughing, no doubt to find her next victim. I was about to chase after her, but I felt something tap my shoulder.

I looked down to see Hannah holding up her own wrist band.

"Thanks Dennis." She said smiling at me and I knew she'd realized I'd bought her more time in the garden.

"No problem Han." I said grinning, taking the wrist band, and running after Thea.


	2. Chapter 2

Hpov

Dennis and Thea ran around the gardens for another hour and a half before Adam and I managed to wrangle them to the entrance. Thea had won their thieving competition and while I expected Dennis to sulk for a while, he didn't. Apparently his excitement at seeing his favorite sister out weighed his dislike for losing in anything.

I wasn't exactly sure when this aversion had started, but Dennis was the kind of person who was good at pretty much everything he tried. He'd never played soccer before high school and ended up on the varsity team, this year he was co-captain even though he was only a junior, and he was smart, so when it came to our classes he never really had to try. But it wasn't just school and sports that came easy to him. Because he was a child of Hermes he could persuade almost anyone to do whatever he wanted. He was just one of those people that you couldn't help but want to be around, even if you knew it might mean trouble. I had a feeling the reason Dennis hated losing so much, was that he just wasn't used to it.

They continued to talk excitedly together all the way to the station and while I thought about trying to start a conversation with Adam, I figured it wasn't worth the effort. I didn't know him well and if he wasn't talking to his fiancé, he seemed like the kind of person who was about as chatty as I was, which meant not at all.

Instead, I drifted in out of focus not really paying attention to the others unless someone addressed me directly. If I was completely honest, part of me was a little disappointed that we were riding with Dennis's sister. While I was happy he was happy to see her, I felt a bit awkward as they laughed and caught up. Usually I looked forward to the hours of travel when Dennis and I went to camp together. All we had to do was not get separated or run into monsters, and it was nice to have his undivided attention. He was the kind of person who was always up to something. His brain just never stopped and maybe it was a bit selfish of me, but I'd liked the fact that when we were younger I was one of the few people he'd really ever focused on. But this had changed since we'd gotten to high school. Lately it seemed he was so busy with other people he didn't have a lot of time for me.

I tried not to think about it, but a small, worried part of me was wondering if he might be out growing our friendship.

'Don't be ridiculous.' I thought trying to force this thought into the back of my mind as he and Thea collapsed into fits of laughter. 'He's your best friend.'

They'd swiped a bag of zipties from a station worker and had been running around ziptying people to things as we made our way through Union Station. Their latest victim had been attached to the chair he'd been sitting in by his belt loop and had tried to get up only to crash to the ground taking the chair with him.

"First one to get the security guard gets to skip chores for a week." Thea said handing Dennis a couple of their few remaining ties which he accepted eagerly.

I looked up at Adam wondering if he was going to try to put a stop to it, but he simply looked at Thea amused.

"Try not to get detained."

"You say that as if you think I might get caught." She responded with a wink.

She made to move towards the guard, but jerked to a stop and almost tripped.

"What the-" she muttered looking down in surprise only to see a ziptie around her belt which fastened her quite securely to a bench that had been bolted to the floor. "Dennis!"

"Have fun doing my chores." He chuckled then went after the guard.

She swore, unbuckled her belt and ran after him.

I finally got the chance to talk to Dennis when Thea and Adam stopped at a coffee kiosk before boarding the train while Dennis and I went ahead to get seats.

"You ok Han?" he asked looking over his shoulder at me as we started making our way through the rows of seats. His dark hair was shorter than he'd worn it in previous years and messy in the way that looked as if he might have woken up late, or like it could have been intentional but either way it looked good. His brown eyes were clever and, as always, looked as if they hid the majority of what he was thinking. He was so hard to read sometimes and it drove me crazy trying to figure out what he was thinking.

"Yeah." I said knowing he wouldn't believe me.

"You seem a little quiet."

"Just letting you catch up with your sister."

"Yeah but you could talk with us." He pointed out.

"What would I even talk to her about?" I asked raising an eyebrow. Despite her initially horrible reputation, Thea was widely regarded as one of the better head counselors at camp. She'd gone from being practically driven out and into the Hunters of Artemis, to being pretty much loved by everyone, and though I liked her, we didn't have much in common. I'd only directly interacted with her a couple times, one of which she'd been furious with me after Dennis had run away to start his very first mission.

"Anything." He said shrugging. "She likes to talk."

"Conversation isn't a strong suit of mine."

"You talk to me alright."

"Yeah, well that's you." I said and he grinned in a slightly cocky manner that always made me feel a bit nervous, but smile as well.

"She and I are practically the same person."

"You going to marry Adam then?" I asked and he laughed.

"You know I don't think that's in my summer plans. I'll let you know if that changes. I'll need a best man."

"I'm a girl."

"I stand by my statement."

I rolled my eyes and as we continued walking down the train, I felt a little better until I spotted a couple of girls giggling and trying to catch his eye. I knew they were checking him out and if I was honest, didn't blame them. He was tall, fit, and had gotten as much attention as Adam had since we'd been at the station. It seemed all the hero training he'd gone through at camp had finally paid off.

I tried to ignore the stab of resentment that went through me when one of the girls smiled at him and he gave her his trouble making grin. It's not like we were still dating after all. He could grin at who ever he wanted.

Of course pretty girls were always watching him lately. I didn't know when it happened, but all of the sudden girls just seemed to love him, and Dennis, I guess partly because of who his father was, couldn't help himself. He was a flirt.

I guess it wasn't that surprising. All the Hermes kids were like that, especially Thea who he had so much in common with. But she was engaged and knew not to take it too far. Dennis however…

He winked at the girl then moved down the rows and I could tell he was smiling to himself. I could tell he liked the attention, but then again what guy wouldn't?

I wasn't exactly sure when this surge of confidence around girls had come to fruition, but it was definitely over the last couple of months. One day Dennis and I were doing our own thing separate from the mortals at school, the next, he was extremely popular and his quiet, 'hippie girlfriend', as his team mates had liked to call me, was left behind. I mean, it really wasn't that big of a shock if you looked at it objectively. I'd always thought this might happen. He'd always been attractive and even before he'd realized it, he could charm anyone to do what he wanted, but when we were younger I was the only one who really seemed to notice.

I looked over at my shoulder at the girls that were staring after him, still giggling and felt a hollow disappointment go through me. I guess I wasn't the only one noticing now.

"Jeez Hannah, don't look so bummed." He said falling into a row with two sets of seats facing each other. "I know you didn't want to leave the gardens so soon but you got to see everything."

I didn't answer, mainly because I didn't really want to talk about what was upsetting me, but instead took the seat opposite his. I noticed now that he was in such close proximity to so many people, his fingers were twitching. No doubt his brain had already started thinking about all the things he could have stolen, but was resisting the temptation. Unlike his sister, who loved messing with and stealing from her fiancé, Dennis had never stolen anything from me even when we were dating. I wasn't sure why, he didn't have a problem from stealing from anyone else and I'd never had the guts to ask.

I was thinking about this when I noticed he was looking at me his eyes narrowed. He looked resentful.

"What?" I asked in surprise.

"I hate it when you get all quiet like this." He said moodily crossing his arms over his chest. "You know drives me nuts."

"I'm a quiet person."

"Not around me." He continued stubbornly. "I'm not an idiot, I know something's wrong."

"I'm fine." I said avoiding his eye.

"You suck at lying."

"Well you're good enough for the both of us." I said attempting to make a joke, but immediately regretting it when I caught at his expression. He looked a little hurt but it was hard to tell with him.

I looked away from him again uncertain how to feel. Before we'd started dating he would have laughed at that I was sure. He'd have made a smart comeback and we'd easily move on to the next topic of conversation, but after we'd broken up our interactions were constantly jolted with awkward moments like this. Half the time things were going along great and it felt like it used to between us, then one of us would say something stupid and the other would just completely shut down. I could see it happening with him now, but before I could try and salvage the situation, Thea dropped into the seat next to his and Adam sat in the one next to mine.

"What happened to you?" Dennis asked sitting up straight in alarm when he spotted the burn on Adam's arm and obvious acid holes in Thea's sleeve. Both looked a little roughed up.

"We got coffee." She said holding up the paper cup in her hand as if this explained everything.

We stared at her and Adam clarified.

"We ran into a couple monsters in line." He said shrugging and I was amazed at how casual they both seemed about this.

"You say that like it happens a lot." I said and Thea's eyes snapped onto me. Dennis and I ran into our fair share of monsters, but they spoke about it like it was just a part of their routine.

"I bet it does." Dennis said amused. "His dad's one of the Big Three. I imagine he's pretty much a monster magnet."

"Yeah." He said flatly and Thea looked amused.

"Oh relax, we've had a good week."

"Only minor threats against our lives and minimal destruction caused." He grumbled sarcastically.

"Exactly." She said brightly and though he looked irritated, when she smiled at him, it seemed as if he couldn't help but smile back.

Dennis rolled his eyes.

"You two have the weirdest relationship I've ever seen."

"Well get used to it bro." Thea said ruffling his hair and he pushed her hand away looking annoyed. "'Cuz in a few months," she gestured between Adam and Dennis. "You two are going to be related."

"That's right that is coming up." Dennis said looking at Thea with interest then smirking. "You know you two have been engaged a long time. Not getting cold feet are you?"

Adam raised an eyebrow at him but Thea laughed.

"Yes, we're miserable, can't you see?" she said amused. "But that reminds me."

She reached into her bag and pulled out two white invitations set on heavy, decorative paper.

"These belong to you two."

"I'm invited?" I asked taking the invitation in surprise.

"Of course, I'm counting on you to keep him in line." She said nudging Dennis and he gave her a dissatisfied expression.

"Where is the fun in that?" he asked and she rolled her eyes.

"The last thing I need is for my little brother to be caught stealing from the Olympians at my wedding."

"You know I resent that." Dennis said and we all looked at him in surprise. He grinned. "Adam's family is loaded. They're much worthier of my attention than the gods that don't need to carry money."

"Do you see what I'm talking about?" Thea asked looking at me.

"Yeah." I agreed and Dennis scowled at me.

"Traitor."

I shrugged and he looked out the window while Adam and Thea started a conversation about their next semester at school. I watched Adam without realizing it, wondering how he made a relationship with a child of Hermes work. They were always so chaotic. They couldn't sit still. The train hadn't even left the station and both Dennis and Thea were moving restlessly, Dennis tapping his fingers against his arm rest and her leg bouncing as she spoke, but somehow Adam seemed more relaxed around her. I'd remembered him before they were dating. He'd always seemed to stressed to me and never really smiled but he was laughing now, something I'd only seen him do around her.

I didn't understand it. Being around Dennis was fun, but he was always up to something. He was always getting into trouble and the things he did sometimes, well, sometimes I thought he was crazy. But, maybe you just had to accept that if you wanted someone like Dennis or Thea in your life. They were never truly going to be contained.

As the train started to move, the three started talking about the summer and what they thought was going to happen at camp. Dennis, who'd started going on missions regularly since last summer, was convinced Apollo was going to lose something again while Thea was fairly certain we were over due for a kidnapping from camp.

"You're both wrong." Adam said and they looked at him curiously.

"What makes you say that?" Dennis asked raising an eyebrow. I knew that despite his initial poor opinion of Adam, after several months of pranking him, Dennis had gotten to know Adam better and thought he was alright.

"Because it's been years since we've heard anything from the oracle," he said flatly. "If anything's going to mess this summer up, it's going to be a prophecy."

This was met with an uncomfortable silence. Missions were one thing, but prophecy's always lead to quests and usually quests were when things fell apart. While I'd personally never been on either, everyone at camp knew. Those who were sent on a quest, rarely had a happy ending.

"Anyways." Thea said obviously trying to break the tension this statement had caused. "Make sure you RSVP for the wedding as soon as possible because if you don't, Adam's mom will come charging up to camp demanding your answers."

"Can't we just say we're going?" Dennis asked a little indignantly. "We're right here."

"No." Thea said rolling her eyes. "Nadine likes things to be official."

"She hasn't been that bad." Adam said fairly and Thea looked at him incredulously.

"She gave me a list of _appropriate_ hair styles for late summer weddings."

He looked as if he wanted to say something, but then thought better of it.

"Yeah I guess you're right." He muttered. "But it's not like you're going to follow them anyways."

She grinned.

"You know me well."

The three started playing a game where Adam would name something and Dennis and Thea would work out how they would steal it, competing with each other to have the best plan. The ride passed like this for a while, the others talking while I sat lost in thought. I couldn't get what Adam had said out of my head about prophecies and quests. It stuck with me the entire trip, and when we finally crossed the camp boundary, I finally voiced my concerns.

"Do you think it's likely?" I asked when Dennis and I had separated from Adam and Thea. As head of their Cabins, they were supposed to check in with Chiron and the other head counselors before summer activities officially started.

"What?" he asked and I noticed that several girls at the Aphrodite cabin were looking at him with interest as we passed it.

"What Adam said, about a prophecy."

"Maybe." He said with a shrug. "He's right it has been a while. Who knows." He grinned. "It could be fun. It's been a while since the camp has a had a good scare. Maybe a mysterious encounter with the oracle is just what this place needs to liven it up."

"Half the cabins try to kill each other every Friday." I pointed out. "I don't think this place needs anymore excitement."

"Oh relax Han." He said rolling his eyes. "Even if something does happen this summer, we're in a camp full of demigods. What are the odds it will have anything to do with us?"

"I guess you're right." I mumbled. My powers weren't interesting enough to be involved with any sort of supernatural goings on anyways. If something did happen, they'd probably just send other, more experienced Demigods, or pull Adam and Thea out of their 'retirement' from missions. But even as I comforted myself with this thought, an unpleasant jolt went through me when I realized that 'experienced Demigods' now included Dennis.

"So what do you want to do?" I asked him trying to think of something else. Summer activities didn't start until tomorrow which meant we had all of today to do whatever we wanted.

"I actually promised Kevin and Jess we'd start strategizing for our end of the summer prank as soon as I got here." He said apologetically. "We can hang out after dinner though ok?"

"Yeah, sure." I said feeling little disappointed but careful not to let it show.

"I'll see you around Han." He said smiling then jogging off to his cabin where no doubt the twins, who lived here year round, were eagerly awaiting his arrival so they could continue to wreak havoc on the camp as they did over every break.

Part of me wanted to go after him but I didn't.

Instead, I walked in the direction of my cabin, trying not to think of Dennis and the way the Aphrodite girls were looking at him. Thankfully, a distraction came almost at once.

"Hey! Hannah!"

I looked over my shoulder to see two girls running towards me and I felt my mood pick up. Both girls were blonde, but one with sky blue eyes and the other with warm brown ones.

"What's up?" I asked feeling myself grin. In front of me were Laney Baker and Elle Westfield my best friends at camp. Well, if you didn't count Dennis.

"I'm so glad I found you." Laney said and she really did look relieved. "The aloe plants in the infirmary are dying and now that more people are going to be at camp we could really use them if people get burned during training. Think you could help us out?"

She was part of the Apollo cabin and spent most of her free time here in the infirmary helping injured campers, but before I could respond, Elle looked at me her expression heart broken.

"You and Dennis broke up?" she asked sadly, her light eyes growing dark with disappointment and Laney's went wide.

"What?" she asked quickly.

"Yeah, a few months ago." Elle said looking even more upset. "You did, didn't you?"

"Yeah." I said knowing there was no point in lying. They would have found out even if Elle hadn't been a daughter of Aphrodite. "But I don't really want to talk about it. You said you need help with aloe plants?"

"Yeah, we hoped you might be able to tell us what's wrong with them. I mean they get plenty of sunlight and it's not like it's cold…"

She gestured a little hopelessly to the sky where there wasn't a single cloud.

She continued expressing her concern but I tuned her out knowing I'd know almost instantly what they were doing wrong the second I'd seen the plant.

"So." Elle asked under cover of Laney's musings about her dying aloes. "What happened with you and Dennis anyways?"

"I don't want to talk about it." I said with a sigh. I wasn't even exactly sure I knew what happened myself.

"I saw you guys walking in together though. Are you guys still friends?"

I thought about this for a moment, wondering how I should answer.

"Honestly, I'm not really sure what we are."

"Well I think you should get back together." She said looking down at me. "I thought you were a great couple and you really liked him. I could tell."

"Yeah." I said with a sigh and looking back over at Cabin eleven where I couldn't see Dennis, but knew he and his siblings must already be plotting. "Well I guess things change."

"Yeah, I guess." She said but she was frowning.

"What?"

"I dunno." She said shrugging. "I just thought, out of all the couples I've seen around here. I thought you guys had a shot of making it."

"Why?" I asked.

We might have been best friends but in many ways Dennis and I were very different, but she seemed to know what was on my mind.

"I always thought you made each other better. I mean, I know he can be a bit all over the place and you're kind of shy, but you seemed to make each other happy."

"We were." I said honestly.

"Well, what happened?"

"I don't really know." I said frowning. "One day everything was fine and then it wasn't."

"Did you talk to him about it?"

"No." I wasn't sure when things had gone wrong, but it felt like things had just gone from bad to worse, and then before I knew it, it was over.

"Well how are you supposed to fix things if you don't talk to him?"

"I really doubt he wanted to fix things." I said quietly.

"What makes you think that?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I figure if he wanted to he would have said something by now." I said with a shrug and she gave me a shrewd look.

"Did you give him a chance to?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked as we passed the volleyball courts, but I was surprised when Laney, who must have picked up on the conversation, was the one to answer.

"Because you don't like to talk about uncomfortable things." Laney said looking back over her shoulder at us. "You avoid them, and if someone tries to bring it up to you, you completely withdraw."

"I do not."

"Yeah you kind of do." Elle agreed.

"Name one time."

"Well, we're two of your closest friends and we didn't know you broke up with your boyfriend of two years until Elle figured it out." Laney said and I felt my stomach contract.

"You're right." I said eventually. "I don't want to talk about this."

"But-" Elle started but Laney shook her head.

"It's no use Elle, she's not going to talk about it."

"Well I still think you should try and work it out." Elle said stubbornly. "Apart from his sister, you're the only one who has any sort of control over that guy. I can only imagine what this summer is going to be like if he's let completely loose."

We stepped on to the porch of the Big House and through the front door after which Laney lead us to the infirmary.

I walked over to the window sill where several aloe plants were positioned so they would receive plenty of light. Instantly I saw that she was right, the plants were dying, but strangely, I couldn't seem to figure out why. I looked at them, trying to gain a sense of what I was working with but was strangely drawing a blank. I felt myself frown. This had never happened before.

"How much are you watering them?" I asked taking one of the spiny stems and letting energy flow through me into the now glowing plant.

"No more or less than usual." Laney responded. "We've been doing everything according to what you suggested before you left last time. They only just started wilting a few days ago."

"That is weird." I said frowning. "Have you talked to any of my siblings?"

"Yeah, they've no idea what's going on either. They said to ask you."

"There's gotta to be a reason." I said frowning and moving on to the next plant. It had the same sort of negative feeling it as the first plant. "It's almost like they're losing their vitality, like they're sick. Are you sure you didn't over water them or something?"

"I don't know what to tell you." she said with a shrug. "We haven't changed anything we've been doing to them. If you don't know what's going on I certainly don't."

"But nothing just gets sick for no reason." I muttered sadly looking at the plants. I might be able to help heal them for now, but if they were sick and whatever the source was wasn't eliminated, I wouldn't be able to keep them going forever.

"I'm sure we'll figure it out." Elle assured me when she caught my expression.

I knew most people might think it was ridiculous to get upset over a couple of dying plants, but she and Laney never made fun of me for it.

"Yeah, maybe we'll get lucky and this will be the worst of our problems this summer."

"Yeah. Maybe." I said moving on to the third plant, but I felt my stomach shrink a little.

"I'm not sure I can save this one." I said looking at it's dried and brown edges. "It's almost dead."

"I'm sure you can." Elle encouraged and after a moment's hesitation. The leaves started to glow.

Both of them were smiling at me, but I felt my confidence waver. Something was seriously wrong with these aloe plants, and I wasn't sure what it was. I couldn't help but let my mind wander back to what Adam had said about prophecies. What if something did go wrong?


	3. Chapter 3

Dpov

"Ok, but what if we put the cannons out side the arena?" Jessica asked curiously looking at her twin brother Kevin and I as we leaned over the map of the camp. Both she and Kevin had blonde hair and green eyes, and were a year older than me. Apart from Thea, they were by far my favorite siblings in the cabin. They often helped me maintain my role in camp as mischief maker in chief.

"No good." I said shaking my head. "They're too visible. Someone would spot them before we could get them ready."

"Well then where would you put them?" Kevin asked and I thought for a moment.

"What if we mounted them to the armory? I doubt anyone would notice them, and even if they did, no one's going to question weapons in the armory."

"Even if they were mounted?" Jessica asked dubiously.

"We could have one of the Hecate kids cover it up with the Mist." Kevin suggested looking at me. "Don't like half of them owe you a favor?"

Jessica looked confused.

"Wait why?"

"They might have accidentally summoned a few hell hounds last summer." I said with a laugh and her eyes went wide. "I took care of it for them."

"You must have worked fast. If Chiron didn't find out about it."

Kevin laughed.

"Even more impressive, Thea didn't find out."

"Find out about what?" asked a suspicious voice and we all looked up from the floor of the living room where we'd been planning, to see Thea had stepped through the front door of our cabin only to cross her arms and glare down at us. "What are you three doing?"

"Nothing." We said innocently while Kevin quickly rolled up the map and our plans.

"Right." She said in a tone that plainly indicated disbelief. "Well anyways, Jess, you and Patty need to clear your stuff off the last bunk in our room."

"Why?" Jessica asked looking irritated.

"Because we're getting a new arrival soon. According to Chiron she's going to be part of our cabin."

"When does she get here?"

"Within the next couple of days apparently. Time line seemed a bit fuzzy."

"Well if he doesn't even know when she gets here, how does he know she even belongs to our cabin?"

"I dunno, I didn't ask. He looked a little worn out. Which reminds me, he told me about what you guys did to the showers this morning."

The twins collapsed into fits of laughter and Thea frowned.

"What did they do?" I asked with interest.

"They stuck broth cubes into the shower head so they'd dissolve and get all over the other campers."

"You guys did that without me?" I asked disappointed and while Thea rolled her eyes, I could have sworn I saw her smile just for a moment.

"Laugh while you want, but you're in charge of cleaning all the showers, including the shower heads." Thea said shrugging.

"WHAT?" Jessica shouted in horror while Kevin's eyes went wide.

"Yep. You guys should probably get going. He says if people can't shower by tomorrow he's kicking out you out of this Friday's game."

"And you let him do that?" Jessica spluttered indignantly.

"How on earth would I stop him?" Thea asked. "Besides, you guys made the mess. You should clean it up."

"You know you used to be fun." Kevin grumbled scowling.

"Yeah, yeah," Thea said dismissively. "Just get going."

"Fine." They muttered and Jessica shoved the plans into my arms before they trooped out of the room looking highly irritated.

"Do I want to know?" Thea asked glancing at the scrolls of papers in my arms.

"Probably not." I said with a grin and she shook her head.

"What on earth am I going to do with you guys?"

"Ok, even you have to admit that was an awesome prank."

"No, it's-" she started automatically, but then realized she wasn't in front of any younger campers and grinned. "Ok, yeah it was pretty funny."

"Good to see you haven't totally lost your sense of humor."

"No, I just have to pretend not to have one, otherwise I'm pretty sure this cabin would be destroyed."

While I'd only found out Thea was my sister when I was thirteen, it always felt like I'd known her for far longer than that. Most of the newer campers in the cabin didn't know it, because as the head counselor she was forced to keep us at least semi controlled, but Thea was an extremely funny person. She was queen of pulling pranks around camp, though lately I'd taken a shot at stealing her title, and she was born an even worse trouble maker than I was. After she'd become in charge however, I had a feeling she'd been forced to mature over the last year or two. But that didn't mean she couldn't be convinced to help with a prank if it was exceptionally good.

"Now you know what it was like for Austin to deal with you." I said grinning.

"Yeah, when I started this job I thought I might need to send him and apology letter. Now I'm realizing it needs to be like an apology novel. Possibly a series."

"What would the title be?" I asked grinning. "'This job sucks. The first Edition'"

"More like, 'How did You Trick Me Into This?' I swear, it's like every time I turn around someone is in trouble for something."

"Ironic coming from you."

"Hey, I've been very well behaved." She said with a sigh as if this thought depressed her but suddenly she smiled. "Speaking of rule breaking, you want to go to Ronald's on Thursday? I'm buying."

"Sure." I said grinning in response.

Ever since Thea had taken over as head of Cabin 11, she was forced to scale back her trouble making to pretty much zero. This meant she wasn't able to devote much of her time to pulling pranks around the camp anymore, the job had pretty much fallen to me. I wasn't exactly sure when it had started, but to replace the time that otherwise would have been devoted to messing with other campers, we'd taken to sneaking out of camp one night each week to go to her favorite diner. I was surprised when she'd suggested it at first, she was supposed to be staying out of trouble after all, but part of me was really pleased. I'd been afraid I wasn't going to see that much of her now that she was so busy. It was nice to know at least for this summer she was still around.

"Great. Meet me at the boundary after lights out. You can tell me what's going on with you and Hannah."

"Wait, what?" I asked but there was a crash in one of the bunk rooms.

"Oh Gods." She said shaking her head. "What's going on now?"

She went to go investigate the noise leaving me on my own in the living room.

I watched her go, wondering now that my planning with the twins had been cut short if I'd be able to hang out with Hannah, but when I checked the Persephone cabin, she wasn't there.

A little disappointed, I put my hands in my pockets and started walking towards the Big House, thinking I might as well attempt to steal the fireworks we'd need for our end of the year prank while things were so disorganized before the start of the summer activities.

I had just passed the volleyball courts when I heard a giggle and looked over to see several Aphrodite girls that had been playing a pick up game were looking at me.

"Need something ladies?" I asked raising an eyebrow and the prettiest of the group responded.

"Yeah actually," she said confidently. She was gorgeous, which was pretty much to be expected considering who her mother was, with long black hair, turquoise eyes, and a very pretty smile she was directing towards me. "A few of us were thinking about going for a swim in the lake soon. You want to join us?"

She looked to be about my age and I thought her name was Stephanie, though I was pretty sure we'd never actually spoken before.

"Who else is going?" I asked. I'd never really had much to do with their cabin, mainly because I wasn't a big fan at how their last Head Counselor had treated Thea, but after Crystal had left the Aphrodite cabin seemed to be making an effort to be nicer to people. Still, what did they want with me?

"It would be just us." She said still smiling at me and tossing her hair over her shoulder.

I hesitated, unsure if I wanted to accept or not when I glanced back at the Big House, I saw Hannah walking out with a couple of her friends.

"I actually just spotted a friend of mine." I said and they looked a little disappointed but not Stephanie, she merely looked interested. "Maybe some other time?"

"I'll hold you to that." She said playfully and I smirked.

"I look forward to it."

I turned and continued walking to the Big House where I saw Hannah had spotted me and I smiled at her.

"Hey." I said noticing she and her friends Laney and Elle were each holding a pot which contained a spiny plant. "You busy?"

"Not really." She said.

"What's with the aloe?" I asked a little proud of myself that I'd actually recognized it.

"They're struggling so we're going to take them to the green house in the Persephone cabin to see if that will help them." Laney explained.

"They look fine to me." I said frowning. I knew Laney pretty well just from exposure. She was always in the infirmary so she'd fixed many of my injuries after missions and training in the arena. In fact, it was through me that she and Hannah had even started talking. I'd been recovering from a dragon bite and Hannah had been visiting me when they bumped into each other, and unlike most girls, Hannah had hit it off with her instantly.

"That's because Hannah here worked her magic on them." Elle said brightly. "But she still thinks being around her siblings will help bolster their recovery."

I didn't know Elle as well as Laney, she was a recent edition to this group. I wasn't exactly sure how they'd become friends. Like me, Hannah had had a pretty deep prejudice against the Aphrodite children for a while, they'd liked to bully her when we were younger, but Elle seemed pretty sweet. She was one of the first to really reach out to the other campers and try to repair her cabin's reputation after Crystal had left camp.

"What are you up to?" Hannah asked and I grinned.

"The usual. Just up to no good."

"What does that mean?" she questioned suspiciously but before I could answer, Laney had interrupted.

"You should be careful." she said seriously. "Chiron's been in a horrible mood all day. He won't be happy if he catches you causing trouble."

"Yeah, Thea said he looked run down or something."

"Well he's had a cold for about a day now. I keep telling him he should take a couple days and rest but you know how he is." She rolled her eyes. "He says he's too busy. Can't be bothered with his own health."

"Well I'll make sure I'm not caught then." I said with a smirk and Elle laughed while Laney looked exasperated.

"What are you doing anyways?" Hannah asked.

"Just preparation." I said honestly.

"Which means?"

"Well if I told you that, then that would ruin the summer prank, wouldn't it?"

She rolled her eyes and the other girls looked at me with curiosity but didn't ask.

"Well before you continue acting like a hooligan, can you help us? There's another aloe in the infirmary but our hands our full." She said holding up her own.

"Sure." I said shrugging.

I helped the girls transfer the last plant, but when I asked Hannah if she wanted to do anything before dinner, she said she wanted to continue to try and figure out what had caused them to start dying. So, disappointed, I walked back in the direction of the Big House intending to try and steal the fireworks again, when I spotted Stephanie and her sisters making their way to the lake.

"Last chance." she said charismatically, winking at me.

I stopped walking, part of me wanting to go with them. It would probably be better just to steal the fireworks when it was dark anyways and besides, there was nothing wrong with meeting new people right? Hannah had made friends in other cabins. Apart from her and my siblings, I didn't hang out with other campers that much. Maybe it was time I branched out.

I was about to agree when a voice said.

"You really think that's a good idea?"

I looked over my shoulder to see Adam leaning against my cabin, obviously waiting for Thea for whatever they'd decided to do this after noon. His arms were crossed over his chest and as usual, his expression was hard to read, but he didn't look happy.

"What?" I asked wondering why I felt defensive and he seemed to notice because he raised an eyebrow.

"You need to be careful around girls like Stephanie." He said as the Aphrodite girls continued to the lake. "They're more powerful than you think and you can run into trouble if you underestimate them."

"I'm not you." I said annoyed and he shrugged. Did he really think I would have forgotten what Crystal had done to both him and Thea?

"Maybe not," he said calmly. "But I noticed she never talked to you before you've started completing missions. Think she'd be interested in you if no one knew who you were?"

I didn't have an answer for this, but even if I did, he wouldn't have heard it.

He shouted in surprise as he was tackled to the ground and I laughed when I realized Thea had dropped off the roof on top of him.

"Why do you keep doing that?" he asked looking up at her and she laughed.

"Because you keep falling for it."

Still chuckling to myself, I continued to walking towards the Big House, but what Adam had said about Stephanie was in the back of my mind. Was he right? Would she really have wanted to spend time with me if I wasn't gaining popularity around the camp from the missions I'd been going on?

'Does it really matter?' a voice asked and I grinned slightly. I mean, why did it matter if girls were talking to me? The fact is they were.

'He's just jealous he's not the only hero around here that people admire anymore.' It continued confidently and I was comforted by this thought for about ten seconds before I heard a laugh, and I looked back to see Adam and Thea, still on the ground, cracking up over something I couldn't guess.

My stomach shrank and I felt a little uncertain. Even if he was pretty much old news at this point, he really didn't seem to care. He looked much happier now than he ever had when everyone in camp had been obsessed with him, and he was the one who'd decided to stop going on missions anyways. I really doubt he cared at all what anyone thought of him at this point. But still…

Stephanie wasn't Crystal, and even if she was, it's not like I'd ever let what happened to him happen to me. He'd been completely controlled, and almost let Thea slip right between his fingers. That just wasn't going to happen to me. It's not like I had anyone to lose at this point anyways.

I didn't know why, but a surge of bitterness went through me.

'He doesn't know what he's talking about.' I thought irritated. I was perfectly entitled to hang out with whoever I wanted, and besides, Hannah was busy. It's not like she'd care. Thea was with Adam, and the twins were supposedly cleaning the showers. Who else was I going to hang out with now anyways?

I stopped and, after making sure Adam was distracted by his fiancé, started jogging towards the lake.

Stephanie and her sisters weren't the only ones there, several people had decided to take advantage of the lack of scheduled activities to go swimming

"You came." Stephanie said looking surprised but pleased as she spotted me. She'd been talking to one of the Ares brothers, who looked a little annoyed she'd interrupted the conversation to smile at me. "I had to admit, I thought you weren't that interested when you went running off to meet with your friend from the Persephone cabin. Thought you two might be a thing."

"Nope." I said and then for some reason felt guilty. "At least not anymore." I explained. "We're just friends."

"Well I can think of several girls around camp that would be happy to hear that." She said ignoring the Ares boy attempt to draw her attention back to him. Eventually he made an irritated noise and waded away to go talk to one of her sisters.

"Why's that?" I asked sitting on the peer and she swam over and looked up at me.

"Well." She said with a sly smile. "Thanks to your sister, Adam is officially off the market. Us girls need a new boy to chase after."

"Oh and you think that's me?" I asked smirking down at her.

"Well I think it should be." She said folding her arms and resting them on the peer. "Handsome, good in the arena, funny, a bit of a trouble maker." She smirked back. "I think you fit the bill."

"You going to be one of the ones chasing me then?" I asked confidently and she raised an eyebrow. "Cuz I'm pretty fast. I'm not sure you could keep up."

"I don't chase boys." She said lazily. "They come to me."

"Seems a little arrogant." I said frowning and she shrugged.

"Maybe, but it's true. Watch this." She winked at me and turned. "Can someone bring me my towel?"

Immediately, several boys started racing for a fluffy purple beach towel on the shore of the lake. They squabbled over the it, arguing who got there first, who knew her better, and who she really wanted to talk to. Voices started to raise and I looked at her but she made no attempt to stop them, just watched apparently a little bored by their behavior. Finally, it was the Ares boy who managed to snatch the towel and he jogged over to us.

"Here you go Steph." He said with pride and she climbed out of the lake on to the peer.

"Thank you Andy." She said taking her towel and wrapping herself in it. She pulled her hair out of the bun she'd put it in to avoid getting it wet, and I caught the smell of roses.

She sat next to me and Andy, after an awkward moment of hesitation, walked off looking disappointed.

"You're enjoyed that didn't you?" I asked looking at Stephanie who smiled.

"Wouldn't you?"

"Taking advantage of people?"

"Hey, it's not my fault they want to act like idiots." she said inspecting her nails coolly. "None of them ever really tried to get to know me. If they only care about my looks, might as well use that to my advantage."

I looked at her uncertainly.

"You're kind of evil aren't you?"

She smiled and I remembered what Adam had said, about being careful around the Aphrodite girls.

"I never said I was nice."

"Well I guess I can't blame you." I said eventually. "It must be nice to have an army of guys waiting to do whatever you ask of them."

"Yeah." She said with a wistful sigh. "Too bad I'm not interested in any of them."

"Who are you interested in then?" I asked and she grinned.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" she asked slyly.

"I would actually." I said standing and offering her a hand which she took and I pulled her to her feet.

"Why's that?"

"Because if you wanted, I could use a little help with something. But if you're not interested I don't want to bother asking."

She gave me a critical look.

"What about your flower friend? She doesn't want to help?"

"She's busy." I said feeling a little disappointed as I said it, but I quickly buried the feeling under a grin I directed at Stephanie. "I have a feeling you might find it fun though."

At this she smiled.

"What did you have in mind?"

"Just get changed and meet me outside your cabin. Because if we get caught we're going to have to run, and I don't think you want to do that in a bathing suit."


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks for the reviews! Sorry I haven't been updating as fast as usual, I've been insanely busy. Hope you like the new chapters!

~Secrethalfblood

Hpov

I had no idea what had happened to the aloe plants which was weird, but they did seem to be healing quickly now that they were in the Persephone cabin with me and my siblings.

Eventually, I decided to give up diagnosing and went to find Dennis. I felt a little bad for bailing on him earlier, but that guilt rapidly disappeared when I found him laughing with one of the Aphrodite sisters as they walked back from the Big House. They both we're wearing book bags that seemed weighed down and packed to the bursting point with something, and I figured he'd once again roped someone into helping him steal.

Abandoning my attempt to hang out with him, I sat on the porch of my cabin trying to ignore the stabs of jealousy going through me as I attempted to read a field guide of succulent plants. I thought there might have been something in here that I had missed, but I was having trouble concentrating. Dennis and the Aphrodite girl had gone in to his cabin for a while, but had just come back out and were talking on the porch.

'It's not a big deal.' I thought trying to go back to the pages in front of me. 'He can talk to anyone he wants.'

But I glanced up again to see her touch his arm flirtatiously and I shut the book knowing it was no good.

'She doesn't even like him.' I thought darkly. 'She just likes him because he's popular.'

"I'm guessing you don't want to talk about it?" asked a familiar voice and I looked up to see Elle wearing a pair of square glasses I'd never seen before.

"What's with the book?" I asked looking the massive volume she was holding to her chest. "You hate reading. You've got the worst case of Dyslexia I've ever seen. You're even worse than me."

"Yeah but Adrian lent it to me." She said brightly. "And I don't hate him."

"Ah." I said in understanding. That explained the glasses. "Still have a crush on the Athena boy huh?"

Adrian was quite possibly the biggest bookworm in camp, and she'd had a crush on him from her very first day here when he'd been in charge of her Greek lessons.

"So, you going to spark notes it and look up talking points?"

"No." she said blushing. "I'm going to read it. He's been helping me read faster."

"Wait, he knows you hate reading?" I asked in surprise.

"Yeah, that's why he's been lending me books. He only lets me borrow the ones he thinks I'll like so I'll actually be interested and read them. Why is that such a surprise?"

"I dunno," I said shrugging. "I just figured you'd always let him assume you were a huge book nerd too."

"Why would I lie about that?" she asked looking astonished. "That wouldn't be the real me."

"You're wearing fake glasses."

"That's just cosmetic." She said shrugging. "But a guy should like who for who you are on the inside. I wouldn't want to date him if I felt like I had to pretend to be someone else."

"You're not dating him." I pointed out.

"Not now, but one day he'll figure out that I'm flirting with him."

"You've been saying that since you got here."

"I believe in him." She said smiling but it faded as she spotted Dennis and her sister. "But speaking of flirts."

"I don't want to talk about Dennis." I said stubbornly.

"Hannah, don't be ridiculous. I know you still like him."

"All the girls like him." I said flatly. "Including your sisters."

"But you're the one he dated for two years." She reminded me.

"Well it seems as if he's having no trouble moving on." I grumbled.

"You want me to ask Steph to back off?" she asked.

"Like she's do that."

"I bet you she would." She said fairly. "I know everyone thinks she's just like Crystal was but she's not. I bet you if she knew you wanted to back together with him she'd respect it."

"I don't want to get back together with him."

"You do remember who you're talking to right?" she asked raising an eyebrow at me. "I have a sixth sense about these things Han so you can't lie."

"I don't." I said honestly. "And even if I did, he clearly isn't interested."

I gestured to Dennis and Stephanie a little hopelessly.

She frowned but didn't say anything.

"What?"

"Nothing." She said frowning. "It's just. I'm a little surprised she'd be interested in Dennis that's all."

"Why?" I asked in surprise. I was pretty sure most girls were.

She seemed to weigh her words carefully before speaking.

"He just doesn't seem like her type."

"Dennis is every girl's type." I said darkly and she rolled her eyes.

"Oh stop being so grumpy. If you want to talk to him just go over there and talk to him. You're his best friend. You trump anyone else he's talking to and you know that."

"Yeah, I guess." I said grinning in spite of myself.

"So cheer up." She said in exasperation. "Go talk to him."

"What are you going to do?" I asked.

"I've got a book to read." She said brightly holding it up for me to look at.

"And Adrian to stare at." I muttered and she giggled.

"Exactly. Now shoo."

I rolled my eyes but got to my feet and jogged over to the Hermes cabin.

"Hey." I said looking at Dennis and while he looked away from Stephanie, and I knew Elle was right saying that he'd never ignore me for anyone, I couldn't help but feel a little intimidated when Stephanie looked at me.

She didn't look angry, but she was even more beautiful up close. She smiled pleasantly when she spotted me and I wasn't sure what to make of it. I'd thought she'd be annoyed at being interrupted.

"What's up Han?" Dennis asked.

"Nothing. Just wondering if you wanted to do something, unless you guys are busy?"

"Nope." Stephanie said shaking her head. "I was just leaving." she turned to Dennis. "I'll see you this weekend, right?"

"Yeah. I'll be there."

"Great." She said giving him a glowing smile then walked off the porch and made her way to her own cabin.

"What's this weekend?" I asked watching her figure retreat a little uncertainly.

"Oh nothing." He said shrugging. "Some of her sisters wanted to get a party mix CD that comes out today but obviously they can't leave camp, so she asked me to sneak out and get it for her."

"Can't they just wait until they leave to get it?" I asked frowning. That's what I would have done.

"Apparently they want it as a present for one of their brothers. It's made by his favorite DJ. They're throwing him a party this weekend."

"I'm guessing Stephanie invited you?"

"Yeah. You want to come? She said you could if you wanted."

"Why?" I asked suspiciously.

"Because you're my best friend and I'm doing her a favor." He said shrugging.

"I have a hard time believing she wants me there."

"Why?" he asked in surprise.

"It's kind of obvious she's into you. Girls generally don't like other girls hanging around the guys they like."

"Maybe." He said with another shrug and looking after her. "But she's pretty nice. Well," he grinned. "When she's not messing with people. I have a feeling she might get a bit carried away with her powers."

"Sounds like someone I know." I muttered and he laughed.

"What are you trying to say there Han?" he asked.

"Absolutely nothing." I said innocently and he gave me a fond smile.

"You know, if I didn't know you I might just believe you."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning you can act cute all you want, I know the real you. You're more diabolical than everyone else would like to think."

"Only because I hang out with you." I pointed out. "I never got into trouble before I met you."

"Well if it's trouble you're looking for, you can always sneak out with me when I go get the CD."

"I'm not hearing this." Said a voice and we both looked up to see Thea walking out of the cabin. "I'm also not reminding you that Chiron is sick today and will probably be spending a lot of time in his office. So you'll have trouble sneaking out on the path near the Big House."

"Good call." Dennis said grinning at his sister.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She said but her smirk ruined the feigned ignorance.

"What are you up to?" he asked curiously as she started to walk away.

"Going to talk to Tess." She said mentioning her best friend and Head of the Hephaestus cabin. "There's a rumor Chiron's going to let us have a chariot race this summer and if that's true, our cabin's going to need the best one."

"You're not going to work with Adam?" I asked in surprise and she smiled.

"No, I'm going to beat him." She said her eyes glittering. "He and his friend Kyle always team up for chariot racing, and I always team up with Tess."

"I've never seen her race a chariot." Dennis said frowning.

"She generally doesn't. She wants to stay available for repairs. Austin and I would always race it, but speaking of Austin, he's not here anymore. You want to ride with me?" she asked looking at Dennis.

"Sure." He said grinning.

"We're going to crush Adam and Kyle." She said with an evil laugh. "Don't get caught sneaking out of camp ok? I've got enough on my plate today without having to add pretending to lecture you about camp rules to the list."

"Alright." Dennis said amused and with one last smile she made her way towards cabin nine.

He watched her for a moment, still grinning, but then turned back to me, an excited glint in his eyes that I'd learned to associate with Dennis and his idea of an adventure.

"So what do you think? You want to sneak off with me?"

I wanted to say no, but as usual something about his smile made me change my mind. He had asked me to go with him, not Stephanie. That had to mean something, right?

"Alright." I said and he looked pleased. "But how are we going to get out of camp?"

"Well the easiest way would be to steal a Pegasus."

"Oh." I said a little uncertainly. I wasn't a huge fan of flying. I'd practically crushed Dennis's hand during the take off and the landing on our flight to DC.

"You'll be fine." He said accurately assessing my hesitance.

"Won't people see us?" I asked.

"Not if we take off from the woods." He said sounding unconcerned. "Actually, you'll be really helpful with this. We can just say one of them isn't feeling well and we need to find a plant in the woods to help it feel better. No one will question you."

"I dunno Dennis." I said uncertainly. "If we're flying I might stay here."

"Where's your sense of adventure?" he asked rolling his eyes. "C'mon, it will be fun."

I wanted to protest but he grabbed my hand and started dragging me towards the stables.

I wasn't exactly sure how it had happened, but ten minutes later we were in the woods where capture the flag was played. It was exactly as he'd said it would be. No one questioned him when I'd lied and said we were looking for medicinal herbs, and he'd hopped up on a pinto with russet colored wings, then held his hand out to help me up as well.

"Ready?" he asked and I hesitated.

"How high are we going to be flying?" I asked.

"Do you really want me to tell you that?" he asked grinning down at me mischievously.

"I guess you've got a point." I muttered still not taking his hand.

"Come on Han." He said rolling his eyes. "You'll be fine."

"I know," I said defensively. "It's just nerve wracking."

"You really think I'm going to let anything happen to you?" he asked raising an eyebrow.

"No."

"Then trust me." He said his eyes meeting mine and after another second of hesitation, I took his hand.

"Was that so hard?" he asked as I slid my arms around him. I couldn't see his face but I could tell by his tone he was rolling his eyes.

"I'm having second thoughts…"

"Don't doubt yourself now."

"I feel sick." I muttered.

"Well this isn't going to help that."

"What?" I asked but he'd already dug his heels into the horse and it shot into the air.

"Oh gods." I said doubling my grip on him and he laughed.

I closed my eyes as the ground shrank beneath us.

"Dennis! Dennis I change my mind! I want to go back down!"

"Too late!" he shouted as he encouraged the horse to fly faster.

"Slow this thing down!" I shouted terrified as we shot between branches and then emerged over the beach only to hurtle over the sound.

"No can do!"

"Why not?" I shrieked closing my eyes as the salty breeze tore at my hair and I was almost certain I was going to be pushed off.

"Because that would be less fun!"

I swore as he continued to laugh.

"Oh gods." I muttered closing my eyes, trying to ignore the way we rose and fell along with the beat of the wings. It felt as if my organs were jumping up and down inside me. "Oh gods I don't like this."

He said something but I couldn't hear him over the howling wind.

Finally, after several terrifying, heart wrenching minutes, we touched down on the roof of a music and DVD shop.

"Well that wasn't so bad." Said Dennis easily sliding off the horse and extending a hand to help me down which I took.

"I hate you." I muttered darkly, my voice shaking along with the rest of me and he chuckled.

"No you don't." he said.

"I really do."

"If you hated me why are you here?" he said with a smug smile and I glared at him.

"Because you're good at convincing people do to what you want."

"True." He said amused and dropping off the roof easily his reflexes, which were far better than mine, stopping him from injuring himself.

"Uh Dennis?" I said looking around.

"Yeah?" he asked looking up at me.

"There's no ladder."

"Oh." He said. Obviously since he didn't need one he hadn't noticed. "Well, looks like you're going to have to jump."

"I'm not you." I said scowling down at him. "I'm going to break something."

"I'll catch you." he said easily.

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Do you know how physics works?"

"Yes." He said smirking. "Unlike you, I got an A in that class."

"Oh rub it in why don't you." I said sourly and he laughed.

"That still doesn't change that fact that I'll be falling very fast. I'm just going to hurt you."

"Hannah, you're tiny," he said rolling his eyes. "You weigh like three pounds."

"I weigh a lot more than that." I said. "Something you're bound to notice when I hit you at terminal velocity."

"And I'm a demigod. I'm stronger than regular mortals. Just jump."

"Why did I let him talk me into this?" I groaned and sat on the edge of the roof. It wasn't that big of a drop, maybe fifteen feet, but still…

"Sometime today would be nice Hannah." Dennis said impatiently.

"If this is how I die, I'm coming back in another life to kill you."

"I'll take those odds."

"You're an ass."

"And you're a coward." He said amused. "I thought you said you trusted me."

"I do." I insisted.

"Then prove it." he said holding up his arms and once again smiling me in the way that convinced me to do things I shouldn't.

"This is so stupid, why am I doing this?" I asked in a groan then closed my eyes and dropped. I fell for what felt like less than a second and then came to a sudden stop.

"Was that so horrible?" Dennis asked sarcastically and I looked up at him.

"Why do I listen to you?" I asked grumpily and he smirked.

"Well I am very smart." He said not too modestly. "And I am very persuasive. Girls tend to think I'm charming."

"Shut up." I said wriggling out of his grip.

"Oh relax Hannah, you're fine." He said letting me go. "Besides, now we can go to the library or a plant nursery or something and you can figure out what's wrong with the aloe plants."

"You care about that?" I asked him in surprise.

"No." he said with what some people might consider brutal honesty. "But you do. So I figured we might as well see if we can figure out what's up."

"Thanks." I said a little shocked and he smiled.

"Of course."

"This doesn't mean I owe you a favor right?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

"Why would you ask me that?" he asked frowning.

"I dunno," I said shrugging. "Isn't that how you operate?"

Dennis rarely did things for people for free. One of the reasons he was able to get away with as much as he did in camp was, like Thea before him, he used his abilities to do things for people in order to get something in return.

"Yes." He agreed putting his hands in his pockets and walking out of the alley. Beany, the pinto we'd stolen, whinnied from the roof top and I saw several confused mortals look around for the source of the noise as we hit the street. "But not with you. You should know that by now."

"Why?" I asked curiously. Now that I thought about it he was right. I'd never noticed before, but Dennis had always helped me whenever I needed it, and he'd never asked for anything in return.

"'Cuz you're my friend dummy." He said rolling his eyes. "Apart from my siblings, you were the first one who treated me like something more than a Hermes camper. And we weren't very popular at the time. You think I'd forget that?"

"Well it seems like everyone likes you now." I muttered remembering how intently Stephanie had been talking to him and he smiled. I wondered if he was thinking the same thing.

"Yeah. But you were the first." He said putting an arm around my shoulder. "Now, let's go save your precious plants."

I grinned.

"You think I'm a dork. Don't you? Caring so much about this?"

"I know you're a dork." He said amused and pulling me closer. "But you're my dork."


	5. Chapter 5

Dpov

Hannah and I ended up spending more time than I expected in the city. By the time we got back it was already dark and we'd had to sneak back into our cabins.

The few days of summer activities went pretty much as expected, but I'd been surprised to see that Chiron had assigned me to lessons in the arena as an instructor now, which meant that I'd be teaching like Adam and Thea. Not just goofing off as the younger campers went over things I'd already learned.

It was strange to think that anyone would listen to me, but even weirder to see people taking my advice and coming to me with questions. I'd remembered taking lessons with from Adam, feeling intimidated as he easily took down opponents during sparring demonstrations, but I could see that same intimidation in the some of the newest campers when I'd led a lesson in hand to hand combat.

All and all, I felt time back had been pretty successful so far. The twins and I were able to set various traps around camp for unsuspecting victims, I'd even managed to get Adam with one which I knew my Dad was pleased about, because the next morning I'd found several drachmas hiding under my pillow.

Things were pretty busy, and while I tried to hang out with my siblings and Hannah as much as possible, I'd also found sometime to spend with Stephanie and her friends. She was pretty cool, a bit more intense than I was used to from a girl, but she liked pulling pranks and I realized that the reason she messed with guys so much was not because she liked their attention, but because it annoyed her.

"I mean how would you feel if people were constantly coming on to you all the time?" she asked rolling her eyes as we walked together. I'd bumped into her on the way to the Big House where I was determined to steal Thea's spot for free time before I met up with Hannah in the strawberry fields, and she'd decided to walk with me.

"I think most guys would love it." I said shrugging. "It would be a nice break from constantly being the one expected to ask people out."

"Yeah, I guess girls have it easier in that respect." She said with a tone I couldn't quite place and I looked at her uncertainly.

It was hard to get a read off of Stephanie sometimes. Half the time I thought she was flirting with me, but moments like these, she spoke to me as if we were just friends. It was confusing. I noticed it was only around other people that she seemed interested, but for the most part, when we were alone, talking to her felt like talking to one of my sisters.

'As if dealing with Hannah wasn't confusing enough.' I thought.

"Have you ever asked anyone out?" I asked her curiously and she grinned.

"Yeah, but it was a total disaster. He was a jerk."

"It wasn't one of the Ares boys was it?" I asked with a laugh as we stepped on the porch and I leaned against one of the supports that shot up from the railings to the roof.

"No." She said amused. "He was a mortal but at least he taught me what I didn't want."

"What's that?" I asked crossing my arms over my chest and looking at her with interest.

She didn't answer, just smiled and leaned against the railing next to me, staring out at the camp as if enjoying a private joke.

"You know you're very cryptic." I said looking down at her.

"And you're very nosey." She said glancing up at me. "What does it matter to you who I date?"

"I can't be curious. We're friends aren't we?"

"I guess." She said with a shrug.

"Oh well now you're just trying to hurt my feelings."

"You know you're not the only one who interacts with people because they have ulterior motives." She said amused.

"Are you saying you're trying to use me?" I asked suspiciously.

"Use is such an ugly word." She said giving me a smile that looked harmless, but her eyes glittered. "Just think of it as a quid pro quo situation. I help you, and you help me."

"What exactly am I supposed to be helping you with?" I asked raising an eyebrow. "Keeping the annoying boys away from you?"

"That's part of it." she said with a shrug.

"What's the other part?"

"That's my business."

"I see." I said not sure if I was offended or entertained by her reluctance to share with me. "And how exactly are you helping me?"

Again she didn't answer, but instead she smiled in a way that revealed nothing, and I felt a surge of irritation go through me. I was starting to see why Hannah could get so annoyed with me sometimes. Hanging out with someone who deliberately kept stuff in their head was frustrating. I had no idea what she was thinking at all.

"I'll see you around Dennis." She said with an amused expression, as if she knew what I was thinking.

"Where are you going?" I asked as she stood and started to walk back in the direction of the cabins, but she didn't respond. Just waved and I watched her confused.

As usual when she was left alone, several guys tried to talk to her, but she ignored them and continued to walk on her own. While it had been a joke, I was starting to think one of the reasons she did enjoy spending time with me was because guys left her alone when we were together.

"What are you up to?" said a suspicious voice and I looked over my shoulder grinned.

"Hey Chiron." I said but when I spotted him I felt my grin fade. "You alright?"

Thea was right. He really didn't look well, pale and tired, and while he spent the majority of our interactions yelling at me, I'd always liked Chiron. He was a good teacher and I had a feeling despite his exasperation with me, he enjoyed having me around.

"I'm fine." He said dismissively. "When you only get sick once every millennia whatever manages to make it through your immune system packs a bit of a punch." He coughed. "But I've got a camp to run. Try to stay out of trouble won't you?"

"No promises." I said grinning.

He rolled his eyes and muttered something about 'teenagers' then let out another coughing fit as he made his way into the Big House.

I watched him go feeling a little concerned but then shrugged. Chiron was an immortal, I doubted something as minor as a cold could take him out.

Reassured by this thought, I clambered up to the roof and looked over the camp. As always, it was a beautiful day. The warm weather was perfect and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. I knew this was technically Thea's spot, but I'd adopted it over the past year or so. Now that she was so busy, she didn't use it nearly as much and it was a good place to be alone if you wanted to think.

It was really strange to me now that I was considered one of the older campers. I thought it would feel different. Seeing Thea and Adam, and all their friends over the passed few years, they'd all seem so powerful and cool. Now I was in their position and I didn't feel like I thought I would. I didn't feel all that special, I just felt like me. Maybe the only cool thing about growing up, was just what younger people thought about it.

As if this thought had drifted out of my head, I heard people step out on the porch and looked over the edge to see Thea and Adam standing on it.

"I hate this job." Thea said moodily. "Being the head of a cabin sucks."

"It's not that bad." He said fairly and her expression darkened.

"It's easy for you to say. You're not in charge of anyone. Yesterday I caught myself reminding Kevin not to swear. I'm freaking out about them running with weapons and reminding them to do their chores, I'm turning into a total mom."

"I know." Adam said with a laugh. "It's adorable."

"I used to be fun." She groaned and he put an arm around her waist.

"You're still fun." He assured her as she leaned her head against his shoulder. "You just have to set a good example now."

"Yeah I guess." she said but she still sounded upset. "I hate being an adult."

"Well, if you want. I can distract Chiron while you go rearrange everything in his office. He still hasn't figured out you're the one that's been doing that for the passed year."

She grinned.

"I love you." she said with a laugh and she kissed him on the cheek. "But we'll have to do that later. Apparently we've got a new camper arriving today and Dad told Chiron himself that she's one of ours. I'm supposed to meet her here in five minutes."

"Another child for you to smother with your new found maternal instincts." He said with a smirk.

"Oh shut up." She said sourly and he laughed.

"What are you going to do? Ground me?"

"You and I both know that I am capable of enacting creative and brutal punishment wherever I see fit." She said loftily. "Now are you really sure you want to be on my bad side?"

"I'm trembling." He said sarcastically and grinning down at her.

She rolled her eyes, but returning his smile as she said.

"You should be, but I've got to go. I'm supposed to be giving the new girl a tour soon. You want to help?"

"I would but Kyle and I agreed to spend free time plotting your defeat in the chariot race."

"You realize there is no way you're going to beat me and Tess right?" she asked as they started walking back into the Big House. "And I'm riding with Dennis. You're not going to be lay a finger on us. We're too fast."

"We'll see." He said confidently and they continued to argue playfully until I couldn't hear their voices any more.

I sat back up on the roof still thinking. I knew it hadn't always been, considering how their relationship had started, but for the most part, things between Adam and Thea had seemed relatively easy. They'd been together since their senior year and while I knew most high school relationships ended, as strange as they seemed, they'd seemed to grow closer together over time rather than grow apart. I'd always hoped that was what would happen between me and Hannah when we were dating, but I guess not everyone could end up with their high school girlfriend or boyfriend. But Hannah and I were friends, at least I could say that. I didn't know how I'd feel if she wasn't in my life at all, so I guess I was lucky enough to avoid that in the break up.

I thought about this for a while but decided I couldn't take it anymore and walked back to my cabin. I had every intention of spending the rest of free time listening to music and not thinking but quickly found that this was a mistake.

The second I grabbed my iPod out of my trunk I felt a jolt go through me as I realized I hadn't changed my lock screen since Hannah and I had broken up. It was a picture of us from the last time she'd dragged me to the desert. I'd never really understood her fascination with it, but after I'd gotten my license she was always making me take her and I'd always liked watching her run around helping the cactus flowers grow. After we'd broken up she'd started asking other friends to take her.

I continued looking at the picture feeling uncertain. It was a good one, I'd caught her off guard by kissing her on the cheek at the last second and she was laughing, but I found that realizing this only made me feel worse.

"At least I'm not wasting gas anymore." I said irritated putting it back in my iPod back into my pocket.

Determined to off set my newly darkened mood, I exited my room hoping to find the twins and challenge them to a pick pocket contest.

I'd just passed the girl's room when I spotted a figure I hadn't seen before. She was blonde and looked a bit like Jess but with our father's hazel eyes, however, they didn't look quite like Thea's. While Thea was always laughing and her eyes were usually bright with some sort of mischief, the new girl's eyes glittered but not in the same way. They were clever, and unlike Thea, who usually used her abilities to keep herself entertained, I could tell this girl used it to get what she wanted.

"First day?" I asked curiously and her gaze turned to me. She looked to be a year younger than me, but didn't look nervous like most kids when they'd been claimed, or relieved that someone was attempting to be friendly to her. She simply looked at me in a way that reminded me of Thea when she'd stared down Nina that time we'd run into the Amazons. As if she were sizing me up.

"Obviously." She said, eventually dropping a beat up duffle bag on her bunk. "Who are you?"

"Dennis."

"So you're the one everyone talks about." she muttered.

"That would be me." I said grinning and she gave me that same calculating look, but didn't say anything. Her jeans were worn, as was the t-shirt she was wearing, and the flannel she'd thrown over it was faded. She didn't seem like the most approachable person, but I was determined to try. Most kids were a little freaked out when they first got to camp. Usually all they needed was a friendly face.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Ryan." She said then scowled when she caught my expression. "Yes I know it's a boy's name."

"Well at least you're aware of it." I said with a smirk but just then, a series of cracks and pops came from outside the cabin and a tall figure streaked towards the front door.

"Oh my gods what did they do now?" I heard Thea asked sounding horrified as she ran to the source of the noise. "Why did I ever agree to do this? I'm not made to be in charge of people."

"Doing great sis!" I shouted after her. "Really keeping a handle on things!"

"Shut up!" she shouted back and as she exited I laughed.

"Her name's Thea right?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah, she's the head of our cabin. She's super cool."

"Seems stressed to me." she said perceptively.

"Well she's responsible for a cabin full of troublemakers." I pointed out. "It's not an easy job. Believe it or not, she was actually one of the biggest pranksters this place ever had. I might be the one people talk about these days, but she taught me everything I know."

"I don't believe it." Ryan said flatly. "Just this morning I saw her reminding people to make their beds."

"Yeah, well don't let her hear you say that, because if she does your stuff will be gone within the hour. Then you'll be running all over camp trying to find it. Trust me, you don't want to challenge Thea. She's nice but she can get a little carried away."

"Noted." She said coolly then looked around the cabin. "So what is this place anyways?"

"What do you mean?" I asked frowning.

"What is this place?" she repeated. "Like a rehabilitation center or something?"

"Rehabilitation? What are you talking about?" I asked in confusion. "It's a summer camp."

"You're sticking with that story too?" she asked raising an eyebrow and I could tell under the careless tone she was annoyed. As if she thought I was lying to her.

"What do you mean?" I asked in concern. Did no one tell her what this place was? What she was?

"I mean I was half way to juvy, when out of no where this lawyer shows up and convinces the judge to send me to some 'youth program'." She put air quotes around the words. "Next thing I know, I'm out of custody and this nut case is saying he's my father, and I needed to live with my siblings for a while. Guy was totally unbalanced. Thought he was a god. Probably off his meds or something. He dropped me off and said to tell them I belonged in cabin eleven."

"That probably was our father." I said and I saw her eyebrows raise when I said the word 'our'. "He looks out for us. Thea ran away like a million times and he sent her here too."

"So you really believe all this crap?" she asked. "That this place is for demigods and you're related to everyone here?"

"Yeah, it's the truth."

"Then you're off your meds too." She said flatly.

"Did Thea not explain anything to you?" I asked frowning. I knew she had a lot on her plate lately, but this seemed like a major detail to forget.

"She said she was going to give me a tour, but some guy in a wheel chair started yelling at her about a gambling ring for some sort of game."

"So he finally found out about that." I said amused. "He always wondered where she was getting all her money."

"You're not telling me Mother Goose was running bets all over this place are you?" she asked gesturing out the door where Thea had just passed.

I nodded.

"Interesting." She said thoughtfully then shrugged. "Maybe she is cool."

"Dennis." Thea said in irritation as she walked back into the room. "Did you steal the fireworks for the fourth of July and give them to the twins?"

"It's possible." I said using her own words against her and her face went blank. I could tell she was trying not to laugh in front of our latest cabin member.

"Kevin nearly lost a thumb because of you." she said flatly then looked at the new girl. "Sorry I had to run off earlier. You ready Ryan?"

"Actually, I'll take her around." I said and both girls looked at me in shock. "You have to deal with Kevin and Jess anyways." I pointed out.

"Alright." She said shrugging then looking at Ryan. "Let me know if you have any questions."

Ryan nodded but refused to do or say anything more than this.

"You going to steal back your betting lists?" I asked Thea and she smiled.

"You really think that was my only copy?" she asked and I smirked.

"I'll see you two later. Have a good first day Ryan. Don't let Dennis get you into too much trouble."

"Well what fun is that?" I asked and she laughed then caught herself.

"Stay out of trouble." She said flatly then rolled her eyes. "What am I talking about. You won't."

She continued to talk to herself in exasperation as she walked out of the room and I was pretty sure she was going to find Adam so they could plot the rearrangement of Chiron's office.

"You got anything important you want to keep safe?" I asked remembering Thea's offer to protect my more valuable possessions until I got a sturdier lock for my trunk. "I can hold it for you if you want. The locks on our trunks are terrible, you don't want to leave things people might steal in them until you've got something hard to break open."

"You really think that's got anything worth protecting in that?" she asked glancing at the faded duffle bag in distaste.

"I was just asking."

"Yeah, well I don't need your help." She said curtly. "So we can skip the tour. I'm not going to be here for long."

"Why's that?" I asked crossing my arms over my chest and looking at her with interest.

"You really think I'm going to spend my summer here, full of lunatics like you that think the Greek Gods were real and that you're descended from them?"

"So you think we're crazy huh?" I asked with a grin.

"This is obviously some sort of place they lock up delusional people. Call it summer camp so they don't freak out."

"And you think you're the only sane one here?" I asked with a knowing smile. I'd seen reactions like these before. Some kids were terrified when they found out what they were, others got angry, but this girl had obviously gone the denial route.

She glared at me, obviously irritated by my expression.

"What is it you're so eager to say?"

"Nothing." I said shrugging and starting to walk out of the room. "If you're so convinced we're all nuts you can leave. I'm not going to stop you."

"Good." She said stiffly.

"But you know," I said casually, pausing as I was about to step out of the room. "The monsters won't stop following you just because you don't want to believe in them."

"What?" she asked angrily but I could hear fear creep into her voice. "How did you know about that? Who told you that I-"

"I'm guessing you started seeing them about two or three years ago?" I asked looking over my shoulder at her. "No one else in your family could. None of your friends either?"

"How do you know that?" she asked her eyes narrowed.

"We all see them. And it's not because we're crazy so you don't have to worry that you're losing it either. We really are Demigods. And so are you."

"And you expect me just to trust you?" she asked. "I don't even know you."

"You don't have to trust me." I said shrugging. "I can prove it."

"How?" she asked and I grinned.

"Just come with me."

I gestured for her to follow me out of the cabin and after a moment's indecision, she walked after me. I took her to the arena where I was pleased to see Adam was setting up for a lesson we were supposed to be teaching after free time.

"Who's that?" she asked obviously picking up on the power that constantly radiated from him, seeing as he was a child of one of the Big Three.

"That's Adam." I said looking at her amused. "Son of Zeus."

"You're really sticking to it then," she said frowning. "This whole demigod thing?"

"Just watch. Hey! Adam!"

He looked up and spotted us, and I could tell he was a bit confused by Ryan's presence.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Torch that target." I said gesturing towards one of the archery stands on the opposite side of the arena.

He looked as if he was bout to ask why, but decided against it. Instead he shrugged, lifted his arm, and electricity sparked from his finger tips then raced towards the target colliding with it in a shower of sparks and a zapping sound.

"Holy…" Ryan started her eyes going wide.

"Still think I'm making this up?" I asked her smirking as Adam went back to setting up the arena.

"So he's really the son of Zeus?" she asked uncertainly.

"Yup."

"And then, that lawyer. The guy who kept saying he was Hermes. He really was my Dad?"

"Our dad." I corrected her and she looked at me warily.

"So, you're really my brother then?"

I nodded.

"This is insane." She said running her fingers through her hair. "All this time, I thought I was going crazy. All the stuff I was seeing." She shook her head and looked at the target which was still smoking slightly form the contact with the electricity. "That… That shouldn't be possible. Are there a lot of kids like him?"

"No." I admitted. "Right now he's the only one of the, well, we call them children of the Big Three, at camp. Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon try to be careful not to have children with mortals because they're so powerful, but as you can see…" I gestured towards Adam. "Sometimes they slip up."

"And you're friends with him?"

"Not really." I said shrugging. "But I know him better than most people. You probably will too eventually."

"Why's that?"

"'Cuz we'll be related to him soon." I said amused. "You remember our head counselor Thea right?"

"Yeah."

"They're engaged."

I expected her to show signs of surprise or excitement. Girls always got giggly when the subject of marriage came up, but to my surprise, her brow furrowed.

"Huh. That's good to know."

"Yeah, he's a useful person to be on good terms with." I said amused. "So, now that you know we're not all crazy, think you can stick around long enough for a tour?"

She glanced at me uncertainly.

"Tell you what." I said. "You stick with me until dinner. I'll show you around, introduce you to our siblings and if you still want to leave I can help get you out."

"What's the catch?" she asked suspiciously.

"No catch." I said honestly. "If you don't want to stay here you don't want to stay here and I'm not going to force you too. Honestly you're lucky you ran into me. Besides Thea, I'm the best shot you have of getting out of here, and Thea wouldn't let you leave."

"So if I go on this stupid tour, you'll help me?" she asked.

I nodded.

"Alright." She said and I could tell she still didn't trust me, but knew she didn't have any other options. "We'll do your dumb tour. But then I'm leaving, got it?"

"Try to contain your excitement." I said rolling my eyes.

"Hey I said I'd go with you. I never said I would be nice."

"Something tells me you've never been accused of that." I said amused. "Let's start with the lake."

We walked out of the arena and I was about to point out which cabin belonged to which god when I spotted Hannah coming out of hers.

"Hey Han, come here for a second!" I shouted and she looked up, then started walking to us.

"Who's this?" Hannah asked.

"This is Ryan, newest member of my cabin. Ryan, this is my best friend Hannah."

"Nice to meet you." She said smiling at Ryan and holding out her hand, but Ryan didn't take it.

Instead, she glanced at the Persephone cabin and I could tell by her expression she wasn't impressed. Maybe it was the pastel colors or the flowers everywhere. Ryan didn't seem the kind of person with a very sunny disposition.

"Your cabin looks like something the Easter bunny would live in. What are you? Like the child of some sort of lame flower god or something?" she asked with a blunt laugh as if this were ridiculous and I saw Hannah looked extremely offended.

"Hannah's the daughter of Persephone." I said awkwardly, starting to wonder if Ryan had a filter. Based on what I'd seen so far, I was going to go with no. "Persephone is the goddess of spring time, fertility, young life, and well, flowers."

"I guess that explains the cabin." She said with a shrug, not bothering to apologize for what she'd said.

"I'm giving Ryan a tour, want to help?" I asked Hannah trying to change the subject and she hesitated, but Ryan's lack of tact decided to continue to steer the conversation.

"She's going to say no." she said. "I upset her."

"You are not eager to make friends here, are you?" I asked looking at her and she shrugged.

"I'm not going to be here long. I don't need to make friends."

"I'm going to go." Hannah said looking a little stunned by Ryan's rudeness. "I'll see you at the campfire."

"Alright." I said and Hannah gave Ryan one last incredulous look before walking in the direction of the crafts building.

"You could have been nicer to her." I said looking at Ryan with a frown.

"Why? She's not my friend. I don't need to pretend to care about flowers."

I grappled with myself for a moment, trying to decide if I should be angry she'd insulted Hannah, or sympathetic for a sister who was obviously struggling to deal with her current situation. The latter won out, mostly because I wasn't sure Ryan really realized how rude she'd been.

"You just say whatever goes through your head, don't you?" I asked after pausing for a moment.

"Pretty much."

"I guess I can respect that." I said with a shrug. "Just try to be careful around Hannah. She's pretty sensitive about people thinking her powers are lame."

"Well, I imagine they are. Adam can shoot lightning from her finger tips. What can she do? Tell if flowers are depressed?"

"Actually, she can bring pretty much any plant back to life if it's dying." I said coolly. "And make them grow faster or slower depending on what the camp needs. Because of her and her siblings, the Apollo kids can make remedies that have saved quite a few campers lives."

"Her cabin still looks like something made by the Easter bunny." She said stubbornly and I looked at her, wondering if it was worth arguing.

"Let's just move on." I said shaking my head and showing her towards the lake.

…

The tour took about and hour and a half. At first I thought Ryan might get over the initial shock and open up a little bit, but the entire time she stayed as stubborn and as closed off as ever.

I managed to convince her to stay for dinner because hey, free food, and hoped she might loosen up around in the chaos and general family feeling of eating with our siblings. But she remained silent throughout the meal glowering at Thea and the others who attempted to engage her in conversation.

Finally, dinner was over and we sat on the beach and watched the sunset.

"So," I said looking at her as she traced patterns into the sand. "Still planning on leaving."

"Yup." She said resolutely.

"And there's nothing I can do to change your mind?"

"Nope."

"Why not?"

"Why is this such a big deal to you?" she asked looking irritated. "You barely know me and I pissed off your best friend."

"I don't have to know you." I said shrugging. "You're my sister."

"So?" She said stubbornly.

"So I don't want you to be monster chow."

"I'll be fine."

"Juvy doesn't sound fine." I said and she glared at the water.

"What you get busted for anyways?" I asked but I had a feeling I knew what her answer would be.

"Got caught shop lifting one too many times." She muttered.

"You don't know how to steal." I said an idea occurring to me.

"I know how to steal." She said annoyed. "I just, I got in a little over my head."

"I could teach you you know." I said casually.

"Teach me what?"

"How to use your abilities. Everyone in our cabin likes to steal, but I can teach you how to not get caught."

Her eyes narrowed.

"Why?"

"Because remember how freaky it was first coming to camp. I felt like running away too, but I had someone help me through it, and I'm glad I stayed."

"Is that why you like Thea so much?" she asked shrewdly. "Did she help you?"

"Yeah." I said quietly and her expression was hard to read, but under the wariness was something else. Did she believe me?

"Why would you want to help me?" she asked suspiciously. "What's in it for you?"

"Honestly? Nothing."

"Then why-"

"Because I don't want you going out into the mortal world on your own." I said looking at her. From what it sounds like Dad got you out of some sort of trouble, and even if he managed to smooth that over, you still don't have a decent monster fighting weapon, and you're untrained. What are you going to do if you get cornered by the Hydra?"

She scowled but didn't answer.

"Stay at camp." I said encouragingly and she looked out over the waves. "Go through training and I'll teach you everything I know. Then, if you still want to leave, at least you'll be able to take better care of yourself."

"What makes you think I'd even want to learn from you?" she asked sourly.

"Because I have this." I said reaching into my pocket and pulling out a busted leather wallet which she looked at with interest.

"How long have you had that?"

"Since before dinner." I said amused.

"You can teach me how to do that too?" she pressed.

"That, and a lot more."

"Alright." She said reclaiming her money. "I'll stay for a while and see how it works out. But only if you're as good as everyone says you are."

"I am." I said comfortably but she didn't look completely convinced..

"Yeah, well. We'll see." She muttered darkly. "And I'm not singing any lame camp fire songs." She added quickly. "I think I'd rather be in juvy."

"Fair enough." I said standing and offering her a hand.

She looked at me a little uncertainly for a second, but then took it.

"Was that so difficult?" I asked her grinning and putting an arm around her shoulder.

"Get off me." She said irritated, pushing me away. "You got what you wanted, stop annoying me."

"I'm your big brother." I said amused replacing my arm around her. "I'm supposed to be annoying."

I could tell she thought about pushing me off again, but I was surprised when she didn't. What surprised me further however, was what she said next.

"You know you're a lot nicer than my other brother."

She wasn't looking at me but at the sand, and while I wanted to ask what she meant by this, I didn't. I could tell by her expression it had been hard for her to say and if I pushed her on it, it would be a mistake.

"Family's important in our cabin." I said pulling her closer. "If you need anything just let me know. Or Thea. We'll take care of you."

"We'll see." She said quietly and while she'd agreed to stay, I could tell part of her still didn't believe me.


	6. Chapter 6

Hey guys, sorry I haven't been uploading at my usual pace. I feel awful that it's taking me so long I'm just crazy busy lately and don't have the same amount of time I did before to write. Anyways, I hope you like the new chapter. As always thanks for the support! It really means so much!

~ secrethalfblood

Hpov

One of the worst things about being a demigod, were the dreams.

 _I looked around the garden in horror. Everything was dead._

 _I walked along the stone step path to see blackened and crumbling plants. The grass turned to dust with each step I took and I felt a surge of revulsion go through me, horrified when I saw trees that I knew should have had branches thick with leaves, were skeletal and bare, their bark bleached as white as coral left in the sun. I thought about trying to save it, but knew it was already too far gone. I might have been good with plants, but I couldn't reverse death. I continued, wondering where I was and why I was alone, but even though I was certain no one was here, I could feel eyes on me._

 _I hugged my arms to myself wishing I would stumble upon a familiar face. As pathetic as it sounded, I wished Dennis were with me. He would have found a way to laugh this place off, maybe make a lame joke about it and lament the fact that there were no monsters to fight. Personally, I was glad there wasn't anything here that was going to try and kill me. I'd never been much use when it came to battle. Whenever we'd run into monsters, Dennis was always having to save me._

 _I felt a pang of embarrassment go through me, and I felt my cheeks go red even though there was no one around to notice or even care. It made me feel weak, but I just couldn't help it. Whenever I was thrown into a fight, I just froze._

 _I pressed on feeling even worse now, wanting to get back to camp. I heard something move to my left and reached for my belt where I kept the dagger Dennis had given me unless I was in the mortal world._

 _"Is someone there?" I asked tightening my grip around the hilt, hearing the fear in my own voice._

 _I heard a someone speak, but it was soft and I wasn't sure what they were saying._

 _"Show yourself!" I shouted trying to sound braver than I felt. It didn't work. I could hear my voice shaking._

 _"No." the voice said softly and I turned to see another path, this one overgrown with thorn bushes. I carefully navigated my way through the spikes, occasionally persuading the plants with my powers to retract out of my way, until I hit a heavy iron gate protruding from heavy stone walls. It was unlocked, which didn't surprise me as I recognized the figure standing just beyond it in front of a series of elaborately carved stone markers that decorated a small bare courtyard inside the walls._

 _"Dennis?" I asked feeling slightly relieved but it was short lived when I saw him fall to his knees, dropping the axe his father had given him._

 _"Dennis!" I shouted in horror and ran to him but he didn't turn._

 _He continued to stare ahead at him at stone, and I realized, feeling sick, that they were not mere decorations. They were head stones._

 _My stomach turned as the truth washed over me._ _I looked around to see the courtyard was now full of them. This wasn't a garden. It was a grave yard._

 _"What happened?" I asked trying to back away, but the gate slammed shut behind me._

 _Dennis's head was in his hands now, and his shoulders were shaking._

 _"They're gone." he whispered._

 _"Dennis, what are you talking about?" I asked starting to feel panicked. "Unlock the gate, we need to get out of here."_

 _"What's the point?" he asked quietly._

 _"What's the point?" I asked indignantly. "We need to get back to camp. Before we end up in a grave ourselves!"_

 _"What camp?" he asked his voice broken, looking up at me and I saw tears in his eyes. "Hannah. It's all gone. Everyone..."_

 _But his sentence faded as if he couldn't bare to to finish it._

 _"What are you-" I started but a cold realization was creeping through me. I looked around at the names on the headstones and felt real terror grip me. They were names I recognized, all names from camp, and in front of Dennis were the names of his siblings. Thea, the twins, Jackson, Patty, even Ryan, and names of his siblings I hadn't met, but knew he must have loved just as much as his mortal sisters._

 _"What happened?" I asked feeling dizzy. "Dennis. What-"_

"Hey Hannah! You gotta wake up or you're going to miss breakfast!" My eyes flew open and I sat up in my bed to see my brother James poking his head into the girls room as people made their way down the hall towards the front of the cabin. Like me he had curly hair, but it was dark brown, and he had light blue eyes.

"Thanks James." I said feeling a little disoriented and he looked concerned.

"You ok?" he asked. James was a year older than me and head of the cabin. He often took time out of his day to make sure we were ok which I usually appreciated, but after the dream felt a little invasive. Even if his name hadn't been in the grave yard, I didn't really want to talk about what I'd seen.

"I'm fine." I said not meeting his eyes

"You sure?" he asked and I nodded.

"Yeah." I assured him. "Just a bad dream."

"Well, you might want to talk to Chiron about it. See if anyone else is dreaming anything weird. Might mean something's coming."

"Yeah. Maybe." I said and he gave me one final look before walking out with the rest of our cabin.

I rubbed my eyes and started to get ready for the day wondering what my dream had been about, and if it was worth bothering Chiron. Probably not, he always had a million things to do and if he was still sick I didn't want to worry him more than I had to.

I stopped off in the green house to check the plants before heading to the dinning pavilion and while they all looked to be in good health, it made me a little late. When I finally made it to breakfast, it was to see that most everyone was already eating. I glanced at the crowded Hermes table to see that Adam was standing at the end, talking to Thea which technically wasn't against the rules as he wasn't sitting with her. I noticed that in front of her was two plates of food, one of which must have been for him, and grinned slightly. Even if I didn't talk to either of them very much, I had to admit it was cute. I looked farther down the table to see that Dennis was sitting across from Ryan, who was working on a padlock under his instruction. I expected her to look irritated, or to say something and then have to avoid being punched, but she seemed interested in what Dennis was teaching her and for once didn't seem to be in a bad mood.

If i was honest, I wasn't exactly sure what to make of Ryan. Dennis seemed to like her, but she wasn't very a pleasant person. I didn't know if she was intentionally rude or not, but the more time I spent around her the more I was convinced she was trying to drive people away.

"She's not that bad." Dennis said shrugging when I brought this up to him later in the day during our shift in the strawberry fields.

"You were there when she told my sister Paula she sounded like a strangled cat when she sang right?"

"Well, she has a point." He said scratching the back of his head a little awkwardly. "She can't sing, and she does it all the time. If you ask me Ryan did the camp a favor. Someone needed to say something."

"You're just as bad as she is." I said rolling my eyes and he grinned.

"Oh relax Hannah. Paula will get over it, and now we don't have to hear her sing anymore."

"That's not an excuse to be rude."

"Ryan's just a little screwed up." He said shrugging. "I think her family is messed up or something."

"What makes you think that?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

"Just the things she says sometimes." He said frowning. "Like she's joking 'cuz she thinks something is normal, but it just makes people uncomfortable."

"Well she certainly knows how to make people uncomfortable." I muttered and he gave me a dubious look.

"Something you want to say?" he asked.

"No." I said but he continued gaze at me with that doubting expression and I sighed. "I just don't know why out of anyone you could have picked to teach, it was her. Your cabin's always getting new people and she doesn't even want to be here. Why her?"

"I dunno." He said frowning. "She just seemed a little lost."

"Meaning?"

"I think she needs someone looking after her." He said tossing a couple strawberries into his basket. "Why do you think Thea kept an eye on me?"

"I dunno." I said frowning. "Maybe she sensed your innate sneakiness or something?"

"Actually, I wasn't all that skilled." He said shrugging. "I only really grew into my powers when Thea started helping me. And I was terrified of stealing."

"Really?" I asked in shock.

"Yeah." He said. "I was really disappointed when I was claimed. I didn't want to stay at camp."

"Well that changed." I muttered and he smirked.

"You could say that, but I think Thea saw I was having a rough time when I first got here and it was kind of nice knowing I had someone watching over me. Made things easier."

"And you want to do the same thing for Ryan?"

"If I can."

"Wow." I said looking at him in surprise. "That's actually really nice of you."

"Why do you always sound so surprised when I do nice things?" He said scowling. "I'm a nice person."

"You're a kleptomaniac." I said grinning.

"But I'm a _nice_ kleptomaniac."

"Whatever Dennis." I said laughing as he continued to look annoyed.

We continued to talk as we filled our baskets and after several trips to the truck where we deposited to the berries, we started making our way back to the main part of the camp.

"So you got any plans?" I asked.

"Nope." He said comfortably and I was surprised. Between his new friend Stephanie and his sister Ryan, he'd seemed insanely busy, and that didn't include his new responsibilities of teaching in the arena.

"Well." I said probably a little more excited than I should have been to hear he was free. "Elle and I were going to help Laney in the infirmary. You want to come?"

"Not really." He said amused. "But if that's what you want to do I'll suffer through it."

"You're spending too much time with Ryan." I said frowning. "You know you don't have to be totally honest about everything."

"You realize you basically just told me to lie to you about stuff." he said with a sly grin.

"That is not what I said."

"But it's what I heard."

"Why do I put up with you?" I asked him and he shrugged.

"Probably because I'm attractive."

"You've got such a big head." I said irritated but then saw he was laughing.

"Relax Han," he said putting an arm around my shoulders. "I was kidding."

"Speaking of Hermes children who are good at irritating me." I said a little awkwardly when I spotted Ryan walking towards us, as usual, looking annoyed about something.

"Hey Ryan," I said but she completely ignored this and looked at her brother.

"You're close with the twins right? Make them leave me alone."

"Hello to you too Ry." He said looking at his sister, obviously entertained by her expression. "How are you this fine day?"

"Annoyed."

"You know it's polite to acknowledge people before you launch right into conversation. Hannah said hello to you."

She stared at him indignantly for a full ten seconds, but he simply raised his eyebrows coolly and she let out an frustrated noise before turning to me and saying.

"Hello Hannah."

"Hi." I said flatly, feeling annoyed as well. I had the distinct impression that Ryan didn't like me, but then again, I couldn't be too insulted. She didn't seem to really like anyone much. Dennis was pretty much the only person she seemed would listen to, and sometimes it seemed as if she tolerated him at best for the help he was giving her.

"Happy?" she asked looking at him aggravated.

"Yes, now what's your issue?"

"They keep unlocking the locks you gave me mentally before I can get them open with the picks. Make them stop."

"That sounds like a personal problem." Dennis said with a slight laugh and she glared at him.

"I thought you said you were going to teach me. How am I supposed to learn anything if they keep messing with the locks?"

"Pick them faster then." Dennis suggested with a shrug, sounding extremely unconcerned with her plight. "Or be nicer to the twins. Maybe if you weren't giving everyone in the cabin the cold shoulder, you'd have less of a target on your back to be messed with."

"I am not going to go running around with Thing 1 and Thing 2." She said furiously.

"Then they're going to keep messing with you."

"But if you told them to-"

"I'm not telling them to do anything." He said simply and she looked extremely put out.

"But-"

"Ryan, you need to be nicer to people." Dennis said. "And the twins wouldn't listen to me anyways. So, either learn to pick the locks faster or make an effort with our siblings. Either way, I'm not going to do everything for you. If you want to learn how to survive as a child of Hermes, you need to put in some work."

She looked as if she wanted to say something in return but thought better of it. I noticed Dennis was the only person she seemed to edit what she was thinking around. I wasn't sure if it was because she respected him, or maybe because she knew she had to stay on his good side, but either way she seemed to keep her rudeness to a minimum when it came to him.

"Fine." She said shortly. "I'll try to be nicer to them."

"Probably a good idea." Dennis said amused.

There was an awkward silence, but it was quickly interrupted when a tall, extremely beautiful girl spotted us from several feet away.

Stephanie said good bye to her sisters and jogged over to us looking at Ryan with interest.

"Hey Dennis, hey Hannah." She said and while I waved back, surprised she addressed me at all, I saw Ryan's eyebrows shoot up when she looked at Stephanie who was beaming at her. "Who's your friend?"

"Hey Steph." Dennis said grinning. "This is Ryan. Ryan this is my friend Stephanie."

"Guess you've got all the pretty girls following you around don't you Dennis?" she asked with a smile and I saw Ryan looked a little taken back.

"Oh gods no. Steph don't be gross she's my sister."

"Oh." She said looking pleased by this. "Another Hermes camper. You liking camp so far?"

Dennis looked as if he wanted to answer this, and I knew why. If Ryan's introduction to me was any indicator of what as about to come, I knew he wouldn't want someone like Stephanie, who wasn't always the most level headed, to be insulted. But true to form, Ryan's rudeness beat him to the punch.

"It would be better if people stopped asking me prying questions." She said flatly and Stephanie blinked. I had the feeling she wasn't used to people who weren't trying to impress her from the second they saw her.

"Well anyways." Dennis said awkwardly. "Steph is from the-"

"Aphrodite cabin, yeah I got that." Ryan said rolling her eyes. "She looks like she fell out of a fashion week fever dream."

I expected Stephanie to say something snide in return, or maybe to shout, but to my very great surprise, she laughed.

"Oh my gods." She said still laughing. "You're so mean. I love it."

"What?" I asked completely confused and I saw Ryan also looked a little wrong footed, which only seemed to increase when Stephanie linked arms with her.

"You're coming with me girlie." she said still beaming at Ryan who looked horrified now.

"I said that you to make you go away." she said trying to disentangle herself from Stephanie but Stephanie didn't let go.

"I know." Stephanie said cheerfully starting to drag Ryan away. "Nobody talks to me like that. They're too busy trying to get on my good side."

"What are you doing?" Ryan asked still trying to free herself.

"I'm stealing you." Stephanie said shrugging. "Maybe if I keep someone as off putting as you around, boys will leave me alone."

"Dennis!" she said looking back at him and I was surprised to see she looked a little desperate. "Tell your friend to leave me alone."

"You got yourself into this mess." he said amused, as I thought privately that Ryan might deserve whatever Stephanie had in store for her.

"Dennis!" Ryan shouted but Stephanie, laughing again, had already dragged her in the direction of the strawberry fields which we had just left. An activity Dennis had told me she hated because boys were always trying to flirt with her.

"Well that was unexpected." I said as the girls walked off and Dennis laughed.

"You know. I'm kind of glad her rudeness has backfired. Steph might be just the person to kick some manners into Ryan."

"I thought she'd be furious with her."

"Eh, Steph is a little weird." He said and I was disappointed to see the fond grin that appeared on his expression when he said this. "But so is Ryan, who knows. Maybe they'll get along."

"I seriously doubt that." I said frowning as Ryan continued to try and pull herself out of Stephanie's grip. "You know she is stronger than she looks."

"Yeah, for an Aphrodite girl she is sure full of surprises."

"So, are we still going to the infirmary?" I asked quickly, for some reason feeling the need to direct his attention away from the girls and back to me.

"Sure." He said shrugging.

He sounded distracted and I wanted to ask what he was thinking about but part of me was afraid to.

We made our way towards the Big House, only to see several of the Apollo kids with med kits sprinting towards the Arena when we reached it. Adam, Thea, and several other head counselors were with them, Thea, the fastest of the group, already distancing herself from them with quite a sizable gap.

"What's going on?" I asked in shock noticing how serious their expressions were.

"No idea." Dennis said looking after his sister with a frown. "Maybe someone got hurt?"

"They need all of those counselors to check on them?" I asked frowning. I noticed Laney was one of the people running.

"There's Kevin and Jess." He said noticing his siblings not too far away from us, they were watching the crowd as well. "Maybe they know what's going on."

We jogged over to them, but were disappointed when Jessica turned towards Dennis.

"Do you know what that was about?" she asked and Dennis shook his head.

"No, we were going to ask you."

"We asked Thea but she said she didn't have time to explain." Kevin said as we all looked after the runners. "She and Adam just came sprinting from the arena where they were teaching some of the younger campers and got as many medics as they could find. Then they just took off again."

"Do you think it's a big deal?" I asked worried.

"I doubt it." Kevin said but Jessica didn't look so certain.

"I dunno Kev, Thea looked pretty worried. She doesn't usually freak out easily."

"It is serious." A voice said and we looked back to see Elle stepping out of the Big House looking worried. She must have beaten Dennis and I to the infirmary. "Chiron collapsed in the Arena during one of their lessons."

"Is he still sick?" Dennis asked looking alarmed and Elle nodded.

"I'm sure he'll be fine." I assured Dennis who looked a little panicked. I knew he'd never admit it, but he was very fond of Chiron. Their on going game of cat and mouse was one of his favorite things about going to camp. He liked seeing how much he could get away with and what Chiron would catch him at, but all that aside, I knew that Dennis had an immense amount of respect for Chiron in general for the care and devotion he had to the demigods and the camp.

"He probably just needs a couple days rest that's all." I continued putting a hand on his shoulder in a comforting gesture. "And while he's recovering you can booby trap his office."

He grinned slightly at this and the siblings all started to debate what kind of traps would be best when Elle tugged my sleeve.

"Yeah?" I asked quietly and she nodded towards the volleyball courts, where I saw the group that had gone running after Chiron were walking back to the Big House. Chiron was back in his wheel chair, and he was being escorted to the infirmary no doubt to finally be treated for whatever had made him so sick.

He looked awful, extremely pale and worn out. Many people had to support him as he made his way into the Big House.

"That doesn't look good." Jessica said quietly and we all looked at her.

"He'll be fine." I said quietly to Dennis who'd looked after the group which were filing into the Big House one by one. "He's practically a million years old. It's not like a little cold would take him out."

"Yeah you're probably right." He agreed but I could tell he didn't really believe it. "Hey, I'm going to to talk to Thea alright?"

"Alright." I said feeling a little disappointed.

He muttered a quick goodbye to the twins, nodded at Elle, then jogged off towards the Big House and I looked at Elle as the twins started talking to each other in low voices.

"Think we should try and help? Or do you think we'd just get in the way?"

"We'd probably be in the way at this point. Almost all the head counselors are there, and half the Apollo cabin."

"You're probably right." I agreed feeling my stomach sink a little. "I guess we'll just have to wait for news like everyone else."


	7. Chapter 7

Dpov

I tried to talk to Thea, or anyone else in the infirmary, about Chiron but none of them had time.

She and the other head counselors were having an emergency meeting about what to do now that Chiron was too ill to run activities, but assured me we would talk tonight when we went Ronald's. So, feeling worried but knowing there was nothing I could do, I walked back to the cabins intending on trying to break into the twins' trunks and swapping their stuff, wondering if they'd know it was me or accuse each other.

I'd already grabbed Kevin's things and was in the middle of breaking through Jessica's reinforced lock when the door burst open, and Ryan stormed into the room.

"I hate your friends." She said furiously flopping onto her bed, not bothering to question why I was in her room or halfway broken into our sister's trunk.

"Rough day champ?" I asked grinning and she glared at me. I noticed her hair was braided, and she looked as if she'd changed clothes. Instead of her usual jeans and her favorite flannel she liked to wear over her t shirts, she was in white shorts, a flowy shirt, and strappy sandals studded with rhinestones.

I couldn't help it. I burst out laughing.

"What happened to you?" I asked clutching at my stomach and she looked as if she wanted to strangle me.

"Your stupid barbie doll girlfriend that's what. She dragged me out to the Strawberry fields with her sisters. One of them got annoyed or something when I pointed out she was wearing too much eyeliner then put a charm on me. Changed my clothes and messed up my hair."

"You know one could argue that she actually made your hair look better." I pointed out. "You didn't even brush it this morning."

"Whatever." She said sourly. "I barely got out of there before they pulled out the make up."

"Oh how terrifying." I said sarcastically. "They made you look like a girl. Besides it sounds like you deserved it."

"No one deserves this!"

"It's not that bad." I said rolling my eyes.

"How would you feel if she did this to you?" she asked indignantly pointing at herself. "I doubt you'd be so amused if she tried to put make up on you!"

"I let Hannah put make up on me once when we were dating." I said shrugging. "It wasn't that horrible."

"Why would you do that?" she said crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at the ceiling.

"Because she thought it was funny."

"But I doubt _you_ wanted to wear make up." She pressed.

"So?" I shrugged again. "It made her laugh."

I continued to work on the lock and I saw her look at me uncertainly out of the corner of my eye, before turning back and glowering at the rafters.

"I don't understand why you hang out with that girl." She muttered obviously still furious. "She's a total dork."

"Hannah's not a dork." I said scowling. "And she's a nice person." I looked over my shoulder at Ryan. "Something you should try at some point."

"Haha." She said sarcastically.

Jessica's locked clicked open and I quickly transferred her Kevin's possessions inside while taking hers out and filling my book bag with it.

"You should get changed though." I said looking at her, wondering if she was going to ask what I was doing but she didn't. Ryan had a remarkable ability to not care what other people were doing. "If we're both free, that means it's lesson time for you."

"What are you teaching me?" she asked sitting up and I glanced at her. She looked less angry, even a little curious.

"Just get changed." I said grinning. "And meet me outside the Aphrodite cabin."

"Why?"

"You want to get them back for charming you, don't you?" I asked and I was pleased to see for the first time today, she'd smiled.

"Yeah, I do."

"Then we're going to work on your stealth skills." I said returning her smile. "We're going to see if you can get in and out of a place without anyone noticing."

"And what are we going to do when we get there?"

"Well you said the girl who charmed you, she wore too much eyeliner right?"

"Yeah."

"It would be a shame if her make up were to go missing."

"And end up in a bag at the bottom of the lake." She muttered.

"We could do that too." I said and I was surprised to see her smile again.

"Alright." She said. "Get out."

"What?"

"I've got to change idiot." She said rolling her eyes. "I'll meet you there."

"See you Ry." I said amused and getting to my feet, ready to put Jessica's things inside Kevin's trunk and start working on the pranking the Aphrodite campers.

It didn't take long. Ryan was a fast learner, and the next thing I knew, she'd pried open a back window and we'd snuck in the Aphrodite cabin.

"Jeez." she said picking up a massive make up case and looking around the at the pink, lace covered walls. "We're going to need more bags. I don't think we can carry all her stuff out with the two of us. How much did all this cost?"

I watched her amused as she continued stealing things like lip liner and concealer, making sure to keep an eye out for any of the Aphrodite siblings.

We might have gotten a little carried away. By dinner none of the Aphrodite children had any make up or hair products to speak of, Ryan had even gone as far as to take their fragrances and we hid them not just in the lake but all over camp.

We had a great time blowing off lessons, sitting at the top of the climbing wall watching them running all over camp to find their things, arguing over which product belonged to which camper and who should get their stuff back first.

"So." I said smirking down at Ryan as we left dinner. "Good ending to a bad day?"

"Yeah, that was pretty funny." She said finishing the last bite of her brownie and we made our way towards our cabin.

We walked in silence for a while, me waving at a couple of my friends while Ryan looked a little awkward. It was obvious some of them were talking about her but I ignored it for the most part and she seemed to be following my lead.

"Are we doing anything else after dinner?" She asked as we hit the cabin porch and I couldn't help but think she was looking at me a little hopefully. Was she starting to enjoy spending time with me?

"I'm going to write letters home with Steph and Hannah." I said and I thought she definitely looked a little disappointed. "You can too if you want."

"I don't think so." She said flatly which had been her reaction last time I suggested she come write letters home.

"You don't have to send anything if you don't want to." I pointed out as her previous good mood was rapidly deflated. She looked irritated. "You could just hang out."

"Yeah. With you and _your_ friends."

"They could be your friends too if you were nice to them." I said but she continued to look moody.

"I could help you with lock picking." I said enticingly putting a bit of our father's charm into my words and she seemed to consider it.

"Alright." She said eventually.

"Go get the locks I gave you." I said grinning. "Meet me on the porch when your done."

She nodded and I went to my room to grab some of the pictures I wanted to send to my sisters and my parents from my trunk.

We met on the porch and just as we were about to head out I heard a voice shriek.

"DENNIS!"

"That's probably Jessica." Ryan said looking back over her shoulder into the cabin. "She was just about to get some of her stuff as I was leaving our room."

"Then we'd better get out of here." I said amused and we started running towards the crafts building.

It didn't take long to reach. In less than five minutes we'd reached the building and saw Stephanie talking excitably to Hannah who, trapped by social convention, was forced to sit next to her, awkwardly listening to a person she was obviously uncomfortable around.

"Hannah doesn't look to happy." I said amused and Ryan looked at the girls.

"Probably because Stephanie talks too much."

"It's because you say stuff like that that no one likes you." I said looking at her and she shrugged.

"I don't need friends."

We walked towards the girls and Hannah looked relieved that she was not on her own with Stephanie anymore, but Stephanie looked most upset. At first I thought she'd figured out who'd stolen all their make up, but that wasn't it. Unlike her siblings she seemed completely untroubled by the theft of her beauty products.

"You took out your braids." She said looking at Ryan and sounding disappointed. "Why?"

"Because I'm not five." Ryan said irritated.

"But you've got such a pretty face." Stephanie pouted. "And you ran off before we were done with you."

"I don't think Ryan wanted a make over Steph." I said amused.

"What does her wanting one have anything to do with it?" she asked shrugging and I expected Ryan to say something insulting but she didn't.

Hannah seemed surprised by this too, because she looked at Ryan, then looked at me her eyebrows raising.

Maybe Ryan was learning that Stephanie wasn't the type of person you could push around easily.

Both Hannah and Stephanie has letters in front of them and I saw that they both had decorated their letters in ways that was very different but similar at the same time. Where as Stephanie had dotted her i's with hearts and doodled over the pink page with lots of lace like designs in purple and red pens, Hannah had done the same with flowers and bright greens and blues as well as purples and yellows. They both had used paper cut outs to add a little embellishment on the letters, and even their hand writing was similar. Neat, like someone had just typed what they'd written.

Ryan and I sat across from them, and just as I was about to ask the girls how their day went, Stephanie waved excitedly and I saw her sister Elle had just walked in Laney and both girls made a B line for us.

"Hey." Elle said happily apparently just as unfazed by the makeup raid as her sister, but I noticed Laney looked extremely tired.

"What's wrong?" Hannah asked her friend in concern.

"She's been in the infirmary all day." Elle explained.

"How is Chiron doing?" I asked before anyone could start a topic that would distract me from asking this.

"It's hard to say." Laney said fretfully. "He seems stable now, but no one can figure out why he fainted and he's still sick."

"And there's nothing you can do?" Stephanie asked looking concerned and Laney responded.

"Well I asked Jackson to make a potion with some of the herbs Hannah planted near the strawberry fields last time you guys were here, but there weren't enough."

"What do you mean?" Hannah asked in shock. "I thought I planted plenty."

"You did." Laney continued. "But I dunno, something must have got them. Maybe an insect or maybe they got too much sunlight because when we got to them they were-"

"Dying." Hannah finished for her looking upset. "Like the aloe plants?"

Laney nodded.

"That can't be a coincidence." I said frowning.

"What else could it be?" Elle asked looking just as troubled as the rest of us felt.

"Dennis. I don't think I'm doing this right." Ryan said and we all looked at her in shock. Apparently unaware of the severity of the conversation around her, she'd gone to fiddling with the combination lock I'd given her.

"What?" she asked clearly wondering why several of us were irritated.

"Read the room Ry." I said annoyed. "This could be a serious problem."

"Well excuse me for not engaging in your pointless discussion." She said rolling her eyes and switching to a lock she already knew how to open and inserting a hook pick. "I mean, I don't see why you're all sitting here making yourself miserable over Chiron. If there's really nothing anyone can do, isn't it obvious what's happening?"

"What do you mean?" Stephanie asked but Ryan either didn't hear her or was ignoring her.

"Ryan!" I said irritated and she looked up.

"What?" she asked defensively as the lock clicked open.

"What do you mean it's obvious?" Stephanie continued while Hannah finished for her.

"Do you have an idea of what's going on?"

"Well yeah. Honestly, I'm surprised you guys haven't figured it out already." She said. "You've been here a lot longer than I have, and even I think it's pretty clear."

We waited.

"Well?" I demanded eventually.

"Well, Chiron's thousands of years old right? And he never gets sick. Suddenly, he's sick, and all of the sudden no one knows what's wrong and all the herbs that could be used to heal him just start dying?" she raised an eyebrow. "Seems like a bit of a coincidence to me don't you think?"

"So what are you saying?" Laney said.

"I'm saying someone here pissed off one of the gods." She said shrugging and going to the next lock. "I wouldn't be surprised if Chiron wasn't the only one to get sick."

This claim was met with complete silence, but she didn't seem to notice. She was too busy trying to open her next lock. Finally, it was Stephanie who broke the silence. She looked at me.

"She's got a point." She said quietly. "Think the counselors figured that out?"

I looked back to see that while all the counselors were here, over seeing their siblings that were writing their letters, they were all sitting together which hardly ever happened unless they had something important to discuss. They'd pushed two tables together and while they were putting up a good show of letter writing, they all looked extremely serious. Their voices were low and I noticed people kept looking at Adam and Thea, and their best friends Kyle and Tess. They were currently the oldest campers at Camp Halfblood and the most likely people to take over for Chiron if he was unable to do his job.

"Probably." I said glancing back at them. Was that why they looked so worried?

"Let's talk about something else." Elle suggested. "Ryan's right, there's nothing we can do at the moment so there's no point. We're just upsetting ourselves."

"Just for the record." Ryan said vaguely. "I'm usually right. You should get used to it."

Most of the table looked at her uncertain if she were joking or not but to my, and apparently Elle's, very great surprise, Stephanie laughed.

Ryan spared her a glance, but obviously decided not to comment.

"You know." Stephanie said looking at me. "You're attracting a lot of attention right now."

"What do you mean?" I asked and she nodded behind me where I noticed a lot of Apollo and Ares boys shooting me resentful looks.

It took me a minute to realize why they were glaring at me, but the reason quickly became apparent. Even if one of them was my sister. I was the only boy sitting at this table, surrounded by several very pretty girls.

I grinned to myself slightly. Well, I guess this wasn't the worst problem to have.

Hannah looked annoyed about something but before I could ask what, I heard someone speak behind me.

"Hey, we still on for tonight?"

I looked back to see Thea standing not two feet away looking stressed but smiling down at me so I didn't feel too worried.

"You're not too busy?" I asked and she shook her head.

"You know I've always got time for my protégé." She said and I grinned back.

"Well, if you're in, I'm in." I said confidently.

"Alright. You know where to meet me."

I nodded and she walked back to the other cabin heads, and Ryan looked at me suspiciously.

"What's tonight?" she asked while Laney and Hannah made plans to go look at the herbs tomorrow and the Aphrodite sisters started discussing plans for the party they were throwing this weekend.

"Thea and I are going out."

"What? Like out of camp?" she asked.

I nodded and while she didn't say anything, her eyes flashed. I wanted to ask her what she was thinking, but with a jolt I realized half the time allotted to letter writing was over and I still hadn't written a single word to any of my mortal friends and family.

I decided it was better just not to ask and got to work on my letters, part of me wondering if I should keep a closer eye on her tonight.

I was about to ask why she was so curious when Hannah asked what time the party was this weekend, but before I could respond, Stephanie had turned towards the rest of the table.

"You're coming too, right Ry?" She asked.

"Coming to what?" she asked not looking up.

"To our party this weekend." Stephanie said as if this were obvious and Ryan was so shocked, she dropped the lock she'd been holding.

"You're inviting me?"

"Of course." Stephanie said with a smile.

Ryan continued to stare at Stephanie, almost as if she were sure Stephanie was joking, but apparently left speechless which I'd never seen happen before.

"I'll make sure she's there." I answered when it seemed as if Ryan wasn't going to.

The others continued to talk for a while I finished my letters, occasionally giving tips to Ryan who was strangely quiet as she continued working on her locks. Finally, after about an hour, the group dispersed and I found myself walking to the campfire with Hannah.

"So that was weird right?" she asked me eventually as we walked passed the cabins.

"What? Steph inviting Ryan?"

She nodded.

"Yeah a little." I agreed and she looked strangely relieved.

"Good. I thought i was the only one who thought so. No one else seemed to react."

"I don't think anyone knew how to react. I think Steph thinks they're friends."

"And what do you think Ryan thinks?" she asked curiously.

"Honestly? I don't think she'd know what to do with a friend if she had one. But I'm glad Steph is trying."

For some reason she frowned at this and I was surprised at what she said next.

"Do you think I should try to be nicer to her?" she asked.

"Who?"

"Ryan."

"You're plenty nice to her." I said in shock. "In fact, you're practically a saint. If I were you and she said some of the stuff she said to you in front of me, I'm pretty sure I would have hit her by now"

"Then why does she hate me?" she asked a little dejectedly.

"She doesn't hate you." i assured her. "She's just got a messed up sense about people. It's nothing to do with you. Out of anyone here you've probably had to put up with the most from her just because you're my best friend."

But she continued to look upset so I tried a different approach.

"It's her problem not yours." I said quietly the light was fading but I could still see a fair amount as people laughed and made their way to the campfire. I was going to tell Hannah not to worry so much about what other people thought when something caught my eye.

"Hey, I'll meet you by the campfire." I said distractedly looking at the Aphrodite cabin and she looked a little surprised.

"Something wrong?" she asked but I shook my head.

"No. I've just got to check something."

"Alright, want me to save you a seat?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Ok. I'll see you there." she said still sounding confused but continuing on to the fire pit while I made my way to the Aphrodite cabin. It was empty and I realized that all the campers must have been at the campfire already but there was a familiar package sitting on the porch. I knew it because I was the one who'd wrapped it in plastic wrap to avoid it sustaining any water damage when Ryan and I had tied it to the peer. On it was a note that read 'Stephanie's'. I picked up the wad of cellophane and saw that all the make up that had been in it had been returned. Even the ones Ryan had stolen. She must have gone back for it after Stephanie had invited her to the party. No one else could have left it there.


	8. Chapter 8

Dpov

Chiron had to spend the rest of the day to the infirmary and since no one really seemed to know what was wrong with him, so he was forced to stay overnight.

I tried not to think about this as I slid out of my bunk quietly, careful not to wake Jackson and Kevin. Then, after putting on my shoes, I stepped into the hall. It was dark, not that it really bothered me. I knew cabin 11 like the back of my hand. I could have made it to the front door and stepped out into the night well aware I was being followed but not bothering to deal with it at the moment. Instead I started to run wondering if she'd be able to keep up.

It didn't take long to get to the camp boundary where I found Thea leaning against a tree, her arms cross over her chest. Even though it was night, I had no problem seeing her. The moon was full and in the moonlight I could see her grinning at me.

"I was starting to think you weren't coming." She said sounding amused.

"Jackson took forever to fell asleep." I responded apologetically.

"You're aware that you have a shadow, right?" she asked curiously straightening up.

"I am."

"You going to do anything about it?"

"Not at the moment." I said shrugging. Apart from lock picking, one of the first things I'd gone over with Ryan was stealth. I wanted to see if she'd learned anything after breaking into the Aphrodite cabin earlier. "We'll see how she does."

"Alright." She said shrugging as well and together we made our way into the woods that would take us to the road that ran next to camp.

"So how's it going with Ryan anyways?" Thea asked putting her hands in her pockets and looking up at the stars poking between the canopy of leaves above us.

"Hard to tell." I said frowning. "She's kind of hard to figure out."

"That's for sure." She said a little wistfully.

"You know I'm a little surprised you're not making more of an effort with her." I said looking at her and her expression seemed conflicted. Thea always went out of her way to make new siblings feel welcome, but she seemed to be giving Ryan some space since she got here. "I figured you'd be super involved or something."

"It wouldn't do any good." Thea said. "You're the only one she puts up with and me pushing her would just make things worse. I've decided to let you handle it. Besides," she added with a grin. "She's your protégé not mine." She pretended to wipe and imaginary tear from her eye. "You're all grown up now and training your own miscreant. I'm so proud."

"Shut up Thea." I muttered rolling my eyes and she laughed, but it faded when I asked. "So how is Chiron doing?"

I knew like me Thea was fond of Chiron and his current condition was troubling her.

"Not well." She said honestly. "Don't go spreading it around, we don't want people freaking out, but he's a lot worse off than the head counselors and the Apollo kids want to admit. No one seems to know what's wrong with him and he keeps insisting he's fine but…" she hesitated. "Well, you saw what happened today."

"Do you think it's something serious?" I asked feeling my stomach shrink.

"I don't know Dennis I really don't." she said quietly. "But I've been talking to Adam and he thinks if he doesn't get any better we might need be looking at a new Activities Director for a while."

"It's really that bad?" I asked in horror and she seemed to debate with herself before answering.

"I'm not really sure." She said eventually. "I've never seen anything like this before, and Adam can sometimes be a little pessimistic, which, to be fair, isn't that surprising considering all the stuff he's been through, but Chiron's tough. I'd be really surprised if he didn't get better soon. He deals with a camp full of idiots like you and me." She grinned slightly. "Maybe he's just faking to get a couple day's vacation."

"Yeah, maybe." I said grinning back feeling slightly reassured. That was one of the many great things about Thea as a head counselor, she always knew how to make people feel better, no matter what they were going through.

"But speaking of uncomfortable topics. What's going on with you and Hannah?" she asked giving me a suspicious look and I found it difficult to look at her as we hit the path that would take us to the road outside camp.

"What do you mean?" I asked trying to delay a conversation I really didn't feel like having.

"Oh come on Dennis." She said rolling her eyes. "Even Adam noticed something was up. And that's saying something."

"We broke up." I said glancing at her for her reaction and while she was frowning, it took her a moment before she spoke.

"What happened?" she asked eventually.

"I don't really want to talk about it." I said turning away from her.

"Well you got to talk about it to someone and who else are you going to talk to about it? The twins?" she asked and I shuddered. The twins weren't exactly known for their sensitivity. They'd be even worse then my sisters back home.

"That would be a nightmare."

"Yeah. I'm the best you got, so." She raised an eyebrow at me. "Spill."

"I dunno Thea." I said honestly. "I really don't know what happened. She just started acting weird, I mean she's always been quiet but she'd always talk to me you know? All the sudden she just stopped, she was always stressed whenever we'd hang out and just everything I said was wrong or would turn into a fight."

"I'm guessing this happened within the last five or six months?" she asked.

"Yeah." I said in surprise. "How'd you know?"

"I'm smart." She said perceptively, her eyes narrowing into a shrewd expression. "I'm guessing this was around the time you hit your growth spurt too?"

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?" I asked confused.

"Maybe nothing." She said but I could tell she was thinking. She didn't elaborate however. Instead she asked. "I take it you guys are still friends?"

"Yeah, but I think that's more just because we don't know how to function without each other in our lives. You know how it is when you know someone from camp. They just understand things that mortal friends can't."

"I have one mortal friend." She said amused. "And he's dating Tess so not really."

"Has she told him who we are?" I asked in surprise.

"No." she admitted. "But he knows there's something weird about us. Blake's always been a bit weird, I'm pretty sure if Tess told him the truth he'd believe it."

"Well what about your cousin?" I asked. Thea didn't have a phone but we'd traded emails over the school year and she'd told me she'd managed to rebuild a relationship with at least one member of her mortal family.

"We're not focusing on me here." She said stubbornly crossing her arms over her chest as we hit the road. "You're the one who's not sure if he's in love with his best friend or not."

"What?" I asked indignantly. "I never said-"

"Spare me the excuses." She said waving her hand impatiently. "Do you still like her or not?"

"I don't know." I said putting my hands in my pockets. It had started to drizzle but it wasn't bad and I knew we were almost at the diner anyways. "I mean, she's still my best friend but it's weird you know? I mean, how would you feel if you broke up with Adam but you still had to see him all the time?"

"Well that's a bit different." She said. "We're getting married at the end of August."

"But you know what I mean. Wouldn't it be awkward in some ways? It just feels like I don't know how to act around her. One second I think everything is fine and we're friends…"

"Then you try to hold hands with her in the Gardens." She said knowingly.

"So you did see that." I muttered and she shrugged.

"Maybe you just need sometime time to adjust."

"Yeah, maybe."

"Then there's the whole Stephanie thing." She said casually but I, for some reason, felt as if she was accusing me of something.

"What about her?" I asked readying myself for a fight and she seemed to notice because she gave me an expression that reminded me of Adam slightly.

"Nothing." She said with an appeasing tone. "I just noticed you're spending a lot of time around her that's all."

"So? Is that a bad thing?"

"No."

"Then why'd you bring it up?"

"Because it was relevant. I don't know why you're getting so defensive. I'm your sister. We can talk about this kind of stuff."

I hesitated but saw that she wasn't attacking me, and seemed just genuinely interested in what was going on my life.

"You're right." I said eventually. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine." She said easily but I still felt on edge.

"But what do you mean by thing?" I asked.

"Well it's obvious she's got some sort of interest in you." she said frowning. "And I think it might bother Hannah."

"Why do you think that?" I asked and for the first time she looked a little annoyed.

"Oh come on Dennis, don't play dumb." She said rolling her eyes. "You're smarter than that."

"Well I can't help it if Stephanie wants to hang out with me." I said frowning. "If Hannah doesn't like it that's her problem."

"It's your problem too if you still like her." Thea pointed out but didn't press the point.

Instead she took off her necklace and her sword appeared in her hand.

"Do you think it's been enough time?" she asked and I took my axe off the keychain on my belt.

"I think so."

She grinned and together we chucked our weapons up at a branch in one of the nearest trees.

Ryan came crashing down from the leaves and landed ungracefully on the forrest floor, but managed to avoid breaking anything.

"You need to increase your following distance." Thea said amused walking over to Ryan and offering her a hand to help her up. "I'll give you props though. You're very quiet. If you were following anyone else, they wouldn't have noticed you."

"They probably wouldn't have attacked me either." Ryan said irritated refusing to take Thea's hand and standing on her own.

"You were detected." Thea said shrugging and giving her a mischievous smile. "You failed. You've got to accept the consequences."

"Did she do this to you?" Ryan asked me her eyes narrowing at Thea then looking at me.

"No. But she did tie me to a street light once." I responded.

"So you should count yourself lucky." Thea said. "Out of the two of us. Dennis's methods are a little less extreme."

"How fortunate." Ryan said rolling her eyes and Thea let out another laugh.

"Why were you following us anyways?" I asked.

Ryan shrugged and I thought she looked a little uncomfortable. I noticed she wouldn't meet my eye, but Thea, as usual, seemed to be able to figure out what was going on in someone else's mind.

"She's trying to figure out how to sneak out of camp." Thea said perceptively and I looked at Ryan who was glaring at her. "Running away are we Ryan?"

"You're one to talk." She snapped. "Dennis said you ran away all the time. He said you almost left the camp to join the Hunters of Artemis."

"Why are you trying to get out?" I asked her frowning. I thought I'd convinced her to stay, at least for a little while.

"Why wouldn't I?" she asked furiously. "I don't fit in here. I don't like anyone here, everyone talks about me and the only people who want to be around me are you and Malibu Barbie."

"Who?" Thea asked but I knew Ryan meant Stephanie.

"Well you're not trying very hard." I said indignantly while Thea reached into her pocket something fell onto the forest floor, but I was too incensed with Ryan to pay attention to it. "Maybe if you stopped being so rude to everyone you'd have more friends."

"I shouldn't have to change who I am for people to accept me." She said stubbornly.

"Well you can't expect people to accept you when all you do is insult them!" I said indignantly starting to lose my temper.

"I'm going to get my sword." Thea said waving and attracting our attention towards her.

"Alright." I said distracted barely registering what she'd said while I continued to glare at Ryan.

"You don't have to change who you are to be accepted at camp Ryan." I said as she continued to glare and Thea disappeared between the tree trunks. "This is the one place in the world where we can be ourselves and be accepted. Where we don't have to hide the fact we're demigods and who our parents are. It's the one place we can be around our friends and siblings without attracting monsters, where we can be safe. But you're so stubborn you can't see that!"

"But I don't fit in!" she said angrily.

"You never really tried!

"Excuse me." Said a voice and we both looked up to see Thea sitting in a branch far above us looking down at us with interest. I saw she was holding both her sword and my Labrys. "But it might interest you that there's a cell phone at your feet."

I glanced and saw that the thing that had 'fallen' out of Thea's pocket was indeed a disposable flip phone, the kind you could load minutes on to, and it was on.

I swore.

"Now." said Thea grinning. "You both are in for a lesson tonight. As I'm sure you know." She continued looking at me. "Monsters are tracking that cell signal at this very moment, and will show up at any time, and neither of you have a weapon."

"Are you nuts?" I asked her wide eyed and she laughed.

"Maybe."

"Why are you doing this?" Ryan said glaring up at her.

"Honestly? Because I got bored of listening to you fight. So. I suggest you two either work out your problems now, and figure out how you're going to escape. Or you're going to be monster chow."

"Thea!" I shouted, but she'd already dropped from the tree and started running.

"Give me back my axe!" I yelled furiously after her but she was already gone, her laughter bouncing off the trees.

I swore and crushed the phone under my foot, knowing it was already too late.

"She's not being serious, is she?" Ryan asked sounding nervous as around us we heard heavy foot steps that rustled the leaves around us and caused branches snap.

"She is." I muttered quietly.

"So she just left us?"

"Yep."

"That can't be allowed." Ryan said her eyes. "I thought the camp counselors we're supposed to look out for us."

"Look around you Ryan." I spat looking around the dark forrest to see shadowy figures closing in around us from all sides. "We're not in camp. And Thea believes in hands on teaching."

"So she really left us?" she asked pulling closer to me.

"Yeah."

"And she's not coming back?"

"No."

"Then what do we do?"

"Well she's obviously trying to teach us something." I said as a manticore stepped out from behind a clump of trees. "So we either learn it, or we die."

"Which means?"

"Well we don't have weapons to fight with, so there's only one thing we can do."

"What?"

"Run."

The next half an hour was one of the most nerve wracking in my life. Thea's little phone call lesson, whatever she was trying to accomplish with it, had attracted what felt like every monster in New York to the woods. Ryan and I were nearly cornered more times than I could keep track of and there were many situations where if I hadn't thought fast, we both would have died. When we finally stepped into the diner, battered and our clothes shredded, it was pretty much agreed between the two of us that it was a miracle we were alive.

"Hey Dennis." A cheerful voice said and Ronald, the owner of the diner's, eyes went wide. "What happened to you?"

"It's a long story." I said wearily as the door swung shut behind me and took in the diner. It was just as I remembered it, a little run down and dingy, but the food smelled amazing.

"Thea's in the back in your usual spot. Who've you got with you?" he asked his eyes falling on Ryan who was glaring sourly at a rip in the sleeve of her shirt.

"This is our sister Ryan."

"Another one of you?" he asked in surprise. "How many siblings do you have?"

"There's a lot of us," I confirmed and he chuckled.

"Well I'll make sure to send you some extra menus."

We made our way to the back of the diner where we saw Thea sitting in her favorite booth her face hidden behind a menu, and she didn't surface until Ryan and I slid into the seat opposite her.

"You should never have kids." I said flatly and she let out a laugh.

"Oh relax you made it didn't you?" she said easily resting the menu on the table in front of her and her eyes glittering amused. "Besides. You don't really think I left you two defenseless did you?"

She nodded towards the door of the diner and saw it open to reveal Adam stepping through it. Thea shot him a distinct look of pride.

"You're not the only one getting lessons in stealth." She said winking at Ryan and turning towards her fiancé. "Good work. They had no idea you were there."

"Told you they wouldn't." he said with a smirk and sliding into the booth next to her.

Ryan rolled her eyes and made a gagging noise when Thea kissed Adam on the cheek, but I stared at him in complete shock. How had I not noticed him?

"Why would you have him follow us in the first place?" I asked confused as I, rather uncomfortably, tried to get over this major lapse in my battle senses. This night was supposed to be just for Thea and I.

"You really think I'm going to let any of my campers run away?" she asked raising an eyebrow at Ryan who glowered at the table, and I knew Thea must have been keeping a closer eye on Ryan than any of us had originally thought.

"Remember that next time you think you're going to make a break for it." she continued and Ryan looked as if she wanted to argue, but thought better of it. Well if anything, it had taught her to keep her temper in check around older campers. I had a feeling Ryan might have thought she was the smartest person in the cabin up until now.

"That doesn't explain why you set monsters on us." I said grumpily. "And how come _you_ let her do that?" I asked turning at Adam. I had a hard time believing Mr. 'Do Good All The Time' would approve of this plan. He'd always been the sensible one of the pair. I had a hard time believing he'd let anyone set monsters on any campers, no matter the circumstances.

"I trust her." Adam said shrugging and she smiled at him. "Besides I was there in case things got out of hand."

"That's a lot of trust to have in her with _our_ lives." Ryan said sarcastically.

"She always has her reasons."

"By what _were_ they?" I asked still annoyed. "What was the point in us getting attacked?"

"Why do you think I did it?" she asked looking at me with interest.

"Because you're crazy." I said irritated and both she and Adam laughed.

"Yes, but you knew that before tonight. That's nothing knew. What did you learn?"

I frowned, thinking, but was unable to come up with anything, however, I was surprised when Ryan answered first.

"I would have died without Dennis's help." Ryan said flatly and I looked at her in shock.

"Exactly." Thea said her eyes flitting to Ryan. "You're not ready to leave camp yet. You're unarmed, untrained, and have no idea what to do in a fight and you." she said turning to me. "You need to be nicer to your sister. Don't waste your time arguing with her. If you want her to like camp, divert your energy into finding ways to make it happen. Not yelling at her. Have a little perspective will you? We all could die at any time. Think of the things you said to her tonight. If she'd died tonight are those the last things you'd want her to hear?"

I thought about our argument and as frustrated as I was with both of my sisters at the moment, I realized that Thea was right.

"No." I admitted.

"Exactly so." Thea continued looking at us her eyes narrowed. "You two are going to get along. Ryan, you're going back to camp tonight and Dennis, get out of your own stubborn head for three seconds and realize that maybe the things you like about camp might not be what Ryan likes. She's new you should be making things easier for her, not harder. Have you even asked her what she likes to do? Or have you just been dragging her along with your and your friends?"

I hesitated but I saw Ryan was looking at Thea with a strange expression. As if she couldn't quite believe someone could care so much about her.

"Alright." I said quietly. "You've got a point."

"Of course I do." Thea said smugly. "I don't know why people don't realize this, but I'm always right."

"That's not true." Adam said looking at her amused.

"Name one time."

"When we went to the county fair."

She winced.

"Ok well the guy lived."

"Only because celestial bronze doesn't hurt mortals."

"I thought he was a vampire!"

Adam rolled his eyes and as the couple continued to bicker in the way that all couples do and I used it as a cover to look at Ryan who was staring at them uncertainly.

"Are they always like this?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

"Like what?"

"This nonchalant about violence."

"Oh. Yeah."

"That's weird."

"They're a weird couple." I agreed and I was relieved to see her smile slightly.

"I guess there are worse things to be." She said quietly.

Eating at the diner went relatively smoothly considering Thea had had us attacked. Ryan loosened up a little bit around her and by the time we were walking back to camp, everyone seemed relatively happy.

"So what do you like to do?" I asked Ryan curiously falling behind Thea and Adam as we crossed the camp boundary and made our way to the cabins.

She'd been in such a bad mood since coming to camp, I hadn't really entertained the thought of her liking things, more just hated somethings less.

"I like training in the arena." She said shrugging. "And reading."

"Well have you talked to any of the Athena kids?" I asked and she frowned.

"Why would I talk to them?"

"Because they're intelligent, and they're good fighters." I said grinning down at her. "Sounds like someone I know."

"You really think they would like me?" She asked suspiciously.

"Why wouldn't they?"

"Are you seriously asking that question?" she asked skeptically as we stepped up to the cabin porch where Adam and Thea were saying good night.

"I like you." I said shrugging. "And Steph likes you."

"I don't know why." She said frowning. "I've been trying to get rid of her."

"Why?"

"She's just not the kind of person I would want to hang out with."

"How can you say that?" I asked raising an eyebrow. "You don't even know her."

She muttered something about 'not needing to' and I frowned.

"You're not judging her by her looks are you? 'Cuz she hates it when people do that."

"No." she said stubbornly.

"Are you sure?" I pressed and she looked uncertain as I continued. "You know you should come to the party. I think she really does want you to be there."

"Why?"

"Honestly I've no idea. Maybe she just wants to make more girlfriends. She told me it's hard for her because most girls hate her on sight. I know that's one of the reasons she like hanging around me when Hannah and her friends are with me."

"You're not going to make me go are you?" she asked crossing her arms over her chest and looking up at me suspiciously.

"No." I said. "Thea's right. I shouldn't be forcing you to do thing you don't want to do."

"Good."

"But I still think you should come." I said unable to help myself and she groaned.

"Dennis."

"You don't have to hang out with me and my friends." I said quickly. "but if anything it might help you meet some new people. You're going to be here for a while. You might as well try and branch out. Who knows, you might make some friends."

She hesitated for a long time before saying.

"Alright." Stubbornly. "But you can't make me stay if I change my mind."

"Alright." I said rolling my eyes.

We heard a laugh and saw that Adam and Thea were sitting on the roof of the cabin together, both looking up at the sky and I wondered how long they'd been up there and if they were ever going to go to bed.

"You know you're right about her." Ryan said eventually. "She's really weird. But she's pretty cool."

"Yeah." I said grinning.

"You're cool too." She said with out looking at me.

"Thanks Ry." I said feeling oddly touched but she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't go getting a big head over it." she said finally stepping on to the porch and heading into the cabin. "That doesn't mean we're friends or anything."

"We don't have to be friends." I reminded her. "We're siblings."

"Whatever Dennis." She said waving me off and I smiled.


	9. Chapter 9

Thanks for the reviews! They really help! Sorry it's been a while, had exams all week and next week so I haven't had time to write but here's the latest chapter. I hope you like it!

~secrethalfblood

Hpov

Not to anyone's surprise, Dennis and his siblings won capture the flag on Friday. It really wasn't much of a competition, not when the Apollo, Zeus, Hephaestus, and Hermes cabins were all on the same team. In a vain attempt to balance the power, the Athena cabin had tried to switch sides and joined with the Ares campers this week, but it didn't do much. They were crushed.

Dennis was the one to recover the flag and spent much of Friday night being generally admired by his several fans around camp, but I tried to ignore this. Instead, I spent the time with Laney and Elle trying to determine what was wrong with the plants in the medical garden.

It didn't do much good. I had no idea what was going on with them, nor did any of my siblings. We tried to salvage as many plants as we could, repotting them and moving them into our now over crowded greenhouse but I was still worried. What was going on?

I tried not to think about this too much as I met Dennis outside my cabin Saturday night, about to head to the party the Aphrodite kids were throwing for one of their brothers.

"You look nice." He said and I looked down at my shirt in jeans in surprise.

"I just changed out of my camp shirt." I said glancing up at him and feeling a warm breeze pull at my hair.

"You still look nice." He said shrugging and I blushed.

"Thanks." I said grinning but looking away from him as we made our way towards the Aphrodite cabin where we'd meet Laney and Elle who were already there.

"Where's Ryan?" I asked in surprise. "Did she decide not to come?"

"I told her we'd meet her there."

"Why?"

"I dunno." He said shrugging while putting his hands into his pockets. "I didn't get to see you much yesterday after the game. Just thought it might be nice to have a couple minutes alone."

I smiled again and we caught up with how each other's day had gone so far. He'd spent most of his day cleaning the stables with the twins when Kyle, the head of the Apollo cabin, caught them trying to set them loose for a diversion for one of their pranks.

"So. You still can't figure it out then?" Dennis asked looking a little worried when I admitted I had no clue what was wrong with the plants that were dying around camp.

"No." I said dejected, feeling a bit like a failure. This was the one thing I was supposed to be good at.

"Well I'm sure you'll figure it out." He said encouragingly as we reached the Aphrodite cabin to see Ryan leaning against a post on the porch looking not so much in a bad mood, but just withdrawn. As if she were mentally steeling herself for the onslaught she expected this party to be.

"You girls ready?" Dennis asked looking through the window to see that already the cabin was packed. I could hear the music blasting through the front door from what must have been the CD Dennis had swiped from the music store in the city and I felt a little uncertain. I wasn't really one big crowds or loud noises.

I nodded and Ryan said. "As I'll ever be." without aggression.

Dennis looked as if he wanted to say something smart back but refrained, and instead gestured for us to follow him.

The second I stepped into the cabin I felt I'd made a mistake. People were everywhere and the music was blasting. A few people turned to look at us as we entered but for the most part Ryan and I were ignored while people greeted Dennis so enthusiastically, we were almost separated from him while campers rushed towards him.

"This must suck for you." Ryan muttered to me, taking a soda from the cooler by the door.

"What do you mean?" I asked confused.

"All these people all over your ex and completely ignoring you." she raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't that bother most people?"

"Not me." I untruthfully turning away from her and she shrugged, but out of the corner of my eye I saw her fix me with an expression that told me she knew I was lying.

"You guys came!" Stephanie said bowling people over to tackle Dennis and surprisingly, me, into a hug, while Ryan somehow managed to escape the embrace.

"Of course," he said with a slight laugh and shouting over the music. "I even got Ryan to come."

"Wonderful." She said letting go of us and beaming at his sister who looked most unhappy to be in Stephanie's presence again. "I'm always happy to have my favorite little storm cloud around."

"What?" I asked and Ryan rolled her eyes.

"That's what she calls me when she wants to use me as boy repellant." Ryan explained moodily. "Says I'm like the opposite of a ray of sunshine."

Dennis burst out laughing.

"I'm really glad you came." Stephanie said happily turning towards her. "The girls and I have been talking. And we want to give you a makeover."

"No." Ryan said irritated.

"Aw come on Ryry."

"Do NOT call me that."

"You're so pretty. If you just let us-"

"No."

"Do your hair-"

"No."

"And just a touch of make-up-"

"No!"

"Please." Stephanie said with a dazzling smile and Ryan glowered at her.

"I'll take that as a yes!" she said brightly.

"Steph, no-" Ryan started but it was too late. Stephanie had already snatched her hand and was dragging her through the party towards a back room that I saw was filled with mirrors and counter tops covered in cosmetics.

"That's going to end in disaster." Dennis chuckled then looked down at me. "Well, what do you want to do?"

But before I could answer him, a couple of Aphrodite sisters came giggling up to him and I was pushed aside as they asked him eagerly to go over the details of his latest mission.

He started telling the story and irritated, I walked away unwilling to hear the same story for what felt like the millionth time. So what if he'd killed a manticore? That wasn't _that_ impressive, well, for him anyways. But they were all giggling and looking at him as if he was one of the Olympians themselves.

Instead, I went searching through the cabin rooms hoping to find Laney and Elle.

I was lucky, they were in the second room I tried, talking to a tall blonde boy with gray eyes. It was Adrian, Elle's oblivious crush.

"Hey." I said pushing my way through the crowd to them and they all turned to look at me.

"Hey." Elle and Laney said brightly and I could tell by his expression that Adrian was wondering who I was.

Elle obviously picked up on this too because she quickly made the introduction.

"Adrian, this is our friend Hannah. From the Persephone cabin."

"Oh, you're Dennis's girlfriend." He stated as realization dawned on him suddenly.

"Actually, we're not dating anymore." I said shaking his hand and privately wondering if that's how most people knew me. As the girl who'd dated Dennis.

"You're not?" he asked frowning. "Are you sure."

"I think she would know." Elle said laughing.

"Yeah." Laney agreed, also laughing which turned into a fit of sneezes.

"Are you ok?" I asked handing her a Kleenex from the pack in my back pocket.

"Fine." She said and I realized she sounded slightly congested. She looked exhausted and extremely pale.

"Are you sure? You don't look so good." I said a little concerned but Dennis, who'd appeared seemingly out of nowhere, waved this off.

"She's fine." He said amused stepped out form the crowd. "Probably just over did it in the infirmary again. But Laney's tough." He put an arm around her shoulder and beamed down at her fondly. "You should have seen her yesterday in the game Hannah. She managed to trap both heads of the Ares and Athena cabin through a series of our net traps using only one arrow. Absolutely brilliant."

"It was nothing." Laney said sniffling and looking embarrassed, but smiling all the same.

"What are you talking about, it was amazing." Dennis laughed. "The best marksman ship I've seen in years."

Laney was beaming now and Elle looked amused, but Adrian, for some reason, suddenly looked excited.

"You're Ryan's brother, right?" he asked Dennis. "The one she spends most of her time with?"

"Uh, yeah." Dennis said looking a little bemused. "It's Adrian isn't it?"

"Yeah. I've been meaning to ask you. Are you the one who taught her how to break playfair cyphers?" Adrian asked and Dennis looked a bit confused.

"What?"

"Playfair cyphers." Adrian repeated eagerly. "During language lessons yesterday, my sister Isabelle were making one while the new campers were doing their worksheets, and she solved it faster than either of us could believe."

"No that wasn't me." Dennis said looking a little amused now. "She must have learned it on her own."

"Well she's brilliant at it. Do you know where she is? Bell and I were just coming up with another one this morning. I wanted to see if she could break it too."

"Last I saw her she'd been kidnapped by Steph and a few of her sisters." Dennis said grinning. "My guess is check anywhere there's a heavy concentration of make-up, mirrors, or giggling. From what I understand all are necessary for a makeover."

We all laughed except for Adrian who looked too intent on finding Ryan to fully appreciate Dennis's joke.

"Thanks for the info." He said. "I'll see you guys later. I'm going to go see if I can rescue her and tempt her into code breaking."

"Alright." I said along with Dennis and Laney, but Elle looked a little disappointed.

"We're still on for tomorrow though, right?" she asked and Adrian smiled.

"Of course." He said pleasantly and she beamed at him with the sort of radiance only children of Aphrodite could manage.

He walked off and Dennis looked at Elle with interest.

"Still hasn't noticed has he?" he asked amused letting go of Laney and putting his arm around my shoulders now.

"No." Elle sighed but immediately brightened as she always did. "But I remain as hopeful as ever."

"You keep after it." he said with a nod. "What are you two doing tomorrow anyways?"

But before she could answer. Laney started to sway.

"I don't feel very good." She muttered and I noticed she looked even paler than she had just a few minutes ago.

"Are you alright?" I asked while both Dennis and Elle looked at her in concern.

"You should sit down." He said while I nodded in agreement.

"I'm going to get her a water." Elle said darting off towards the front of the house where the drinks were.

Laney took an unsteady step towards the nearest chair, and suddenly collapsed.

"Laney!" I shouted in horror attracting the attention of the people around us. Dennis caught her just before she hit the ground. He looked at me.

"Get Steph." He said putting Laney's arm around his shoulders and supporting her.

"I'm fine." She insisted sounding a little out of it. "Just got a little dizzy."

But this was followed by a series of rasping coughs and I quickly ran out of the room searching for Stephanie.

I finally found her in the common area, having what looked like a spirited debate on her end, and a heated argument on Ryan's side, about a glittering sequence headband that Stephanie was holding out to Ryan. Apparently trying to convince her to put it on.

"What's wrong?" she asked her eyes going wide when she caught my expression.

People were muttering now and I knew news about Laney was quickly spreading.

"It's Laney." I said. "She fainted or something. Dennis is with her now."

"CUT THE MUSIC!" she shouted and her siblings went scrambling to shut it off while she grabbed my hand and pushed through the crowd.

"Get out of my way." She said annoyed as several boys tried to engage her in conversation. "I swear to gods you're all like vultures."

But finally, after the fifth person came up to her she'd had enough.

"EVERYONE WHO IS NOT RELATED TO ME GET OUT OF THIS CABIN!" she shouted. "PARTY'S OVER. ANYONE WHO'S STILL HERE AFTER THIRTY SECONDS IS GETTING CHARMED INTO WEARING BLUE EYESHADOW, A TUBE TOP, AND BLACK SOCKS! BOY OR GIRL. I AM NOT KIDDING!"

Boys started scrambling for the front door, but she grabbed Ryan as she too started making her way towards the front.

"You're fine." She said dragging both me and her towards the room with Dennis and the others. "Let's go."

We weaved our way through the crowd stampeding towards the exit and finally made it to Laney who Elle was handing a water too, and Dennis, who'd managed to guide her to a seat.

"What happened?" Stephanie asked looking concerned.

"She just collapsed." Dennis said turning towards Stephanie his expression worried.

"Like Chiron?" a voice asked and we all turned to see several of Laney's siblings who'd been at the party had stayed behind. They were intermingled with the remaining Aphrodite campers and looked hesitant to step into the room after what Stephanie had said, but she waved them in and a blonde girl who I thought was named Lauren rushed to her sister's side.

"How many fingers am I holding up Lay?" she asked and I realized it was she who'd spoken earlier.

"We should give them some space." Dennis said grabbing my arm and dragging me and Elle away from the siblings. Stephanie came too.

"This isn't good." I said looking up at Dennis who looked just as uneasy as I felt. "Laney's the most health-conscious person I know. She _never_ gets sick."

"Do you think your sister was right?" Stephanie asked quietly as she glanced over her shoulder back at Laney and her siblings. "Do you think more people are going to get sick?"

"Of course they are." Answered Ryan's voice and we all jumped except for Dennis who must have realized she was still behind us.

"Ryan." He snapped his tone stiff. "Not the time or the place."

She shrugged looking not unsympathetic, but unsurprised all the same. Her eyes were glittering in a way that was difficult to read but sent shivers down my spine.

"If Laney is sick that's not good." Dennis said watching as we stepped out of the cabin with Ryan and Laney's siblings helped her in the direction of the Big House. "She's the best healer in camp. She's the one I always go to when I've got an injury. And if she's too ill to take care of Chiron, or she can't help take care of herself…"

"And what happens if someone else gets sick?" I asked softly.

"I'd be less concerned about who's getting sick than I would be about who's fault this is." Ryan said flatly.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, if we knew who was behind this. Or who the gods were mad it, we could turn the whole thing around couldn't we? Stop more people from getting sick."

"She's got a point." I said looking at Dennis.

"Alright. I'll bring it up to Thea." He said frowning. "I'll see if I can get a hold of Dad too. See if he knows what's going on."

"Thea will have thought of that." Ryan said unhelpfully. "I'd be surprised if both she and Adam hadn't already asked our Dad and his."

"Then what do you suppose we do?" Dennis asked raising an eyebrow at her and she shrugged.

"I don't have all the answers. That's something you're going to have to figure that out on your own."

"On our own? What, are you going somewhere?" Dennis asked and she said.

"Believe it or not brother I've managed to make a friend. Adrian invited me over to his cabin after the party. And the party is over. So. I'm going there."

Dennis, for once, seemed stunned into silence so I answered for him.

"Well, have a good time. I guess we'll see you around."

She nodded and turned to walk but then hesitated.

"I'm sorry about Laney." She said eventually, not looking at either of us. "I know you guys like her. This can't be a pleasant experience."

"Thanks." I said quietly and again she nodded before awkwardly walking off.

We watched her go, and I looked up at Dennis who still seemed to be struggling with speech.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked looking up at him.

"Nothing." he said and suddenly, he grinned.

"What are you so happy about?" I couldn't understand what could cause him to smile like this. I didn't think we'd had a worse first week back at camp.

"Nothing." he repeated. "It's just, I guess I know what Thea must have felt like when I met you." He continued as he watched Ryan's figure shrink, her hands in her pockets and as usual walking in a way that seemed as if her mind was in other places, and he smile grew.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's nice to see things going well for her." he said shrugging and turning so I was forced to jog a few steps to keep up with him. "I guess I'm just a little proud."

"You really think Thea cared at all about you meeting me?" I asked in surprise.

"Of course. You're my best friend. What makes you think she wouldn't?"

"I dunno." I said shrugging and looking away from him. "I figured someone like her wouldn't think that much about someone like me?"

"Someone like her?"

"Yeah. She's really powerful, and so are her friends. She's dating a son of one of the Big Three, and she trained you. And you're the biggest hero in camp right now. What interest would someone like her have in someone like me?"

What interest did Dennis have anyways?

"You know I wish you'd stop saying stuff like that." he said frowning.

"Why?"

"Because you're more powerful than you give yourself credit for." he said looking down at me. "I can only imagine what you could do if you had even a bit more confidence in yourself."

"What exactly do you think a girl with plant powers can do?" I asked him skeptically.

He shrugged.

"I've no idea, but neither will you if you never try."

I tried to think of some other way my powers could be used, to be more helpful around camp or more impressive in general but came up with nothing.

"Thanks Dennis." I said eventually. It was nice to know that even when I was feeling down, he was always there to believe in me.

"No problem Han." he said putting a hand on my shoulder. "So, think they'll let us visit Laney?"

"I doubt it." I said honestly.

"Well, then we should use the time we have before lights out for something constructive." he said with a grin that made me wonder for what felt like the millionth time what was going on in his mind.

"What does that mean?" I asked and he smirked.

"The twins and I never did get to pull our prank earlier today. You want to help?"

I hesitated. I really didn't want to get into troubled, but if I was honest, having a distraction right now would have been a welcome relief. I didn't want to think about Chiron, Laney, or the freaky dreams I kept having since we'd come back to camp.

"What are you planning to do?" I asked and again, his smile grew.

"Just come with me." he said persuasively making his way towards the stables and after a moment's hesitation. I followed him, wondering what on earth I was getting myself into.


	10. Chapter 10

Sorry I know it's been a while. I kind of hit a wall and lost faith in the story. But thank you to everyone who is still reading and for the favorites/follows/reviews. They really help motivate me to keep writing. Again sorry it took so long. Hope you enjoy.

~secrethalfblood

Dpov

There was no change in Laney's or Chiron's condition over the next week and despite the head counselors' attempts to keep everything running as smoothly as possible while Chiron was out of commission, people around camp were starting to feel the same gnawing sense of unease I felt whenever I thought about it.

To make things worse, more people were getting sick. Within twenty four hours of Laney's admittance to the infirmary, Kevin came down with a fever, and two days letter Jessica joined him.

No one seemed to know what was going on or who was going to be next, and the strain was starting to show in the camp. A single sneeze could set an entire group in an activity on edge, and over lunch on Wednesday I heard Adam and Thea discussing the ramifications for cancelling activities until they got a better idea of what was going on.

The infirmary had been closed off to anyone other than camp staff members, select head counselors, and the children of Apollo who were working in it. Everyone was wondering if anyone else was going to get sick, and if so, when it was going to happen.

"What are we going to do?" I asked Thea as we sat together on the roof of the Big House. It was a warm sunny day, but it couldn't have less accurately reflected my mood. Not even Thea was smiling lately.

"I don't know Dennis." she said quietly looking worried. "I just wish we could figure what was going on. It doesn't make sense. I almost thought it was a curse, but that doesn't explain why it's hitting different cabins, or why the plants are dying. And who would want to curse Chiron?"

"So you really don't have any idea what's going on?" I asked her and she shook her head. She was hugging her knees to her chest, and I knew she felt just as powerless as I did. It was strange seeing Thea so upset. Usually she had all the answers, but this wasn't something she could think around and we both knew it.

"Does Chiron have any ideas?" I asked and she I noticed she wouldn't meet my eyes.

"Thea..." I started but again she refused to look at me.

"Thea, what's going on? What do you know?"

She was one of the few people allowed in the infirmary at the moment, so if anyone knew anything it was her.

"We can't really ask him." she said quietly looking over the camp.

"What do you mean by that?"

"We're not supposed to talk about it." she said her voice still low, but this time she did look at me. "We don't want to freak people out but,"

Her sentence faded however.

"But what?" I asked feeling anxiety creep through me. Whatever she'd been about to say was obviously pretty bad.

"Chiron's unresponsive." she said eventually.

"What?" I asked in horror and she nodded glancing at her hands.

"Yeah. We can't wake him up and it looks like Laney's heading the same way."

"What do you mean unresponsive?" I asked, panic flooding through me. "He's not-"

"He's alive." she said dispelling the worst of my fears, but just barely. "We just can't wake him up."

"And you think it's going to happen to Laney?" I whispered and she nodded.

"She's showing the exact same symptoms as he was before it happened."

"But why didn't you say anything?" I asked indignantly. "We need to do something! What about Kevin and Jess?"

"You think I don't know that?" she asked. "But what exactly do you want us to do? We've no idea what's wrong with them. We didn't say anything because we knew people would take it the same way you are now. We can't have the whole camp panicking. That would be chaos."

"What do the gods think? Did you talk to Dad?"

"He's got no answers, but to be honest I don't think he really cared all that much. But, that'll probably change now that the twins are..."

"What about Adam's father?" I asked hesitantly and Thea frowned.

"He's got no idea, though I doubt he'll do anything. He's got bigger problems than a couple of sick demigods. If his kids aren't involved he won't be either."

"Can't we get Apollo down here. I mean, his daughter is one of the people that are affected."

"You'd have to talk to one his children about that. We couldn't call him. He's already doesn't like Adam 'cuz he thinks he's disrespectful, and we crashed his ride."

I reflected on this and we sat in silence for a while, before she asked if I wanted to visit Tess to go over plans for the chariot race.

I looked at her in shock.

"We're still having it? With everything that's been going on?"

"We're going to try." she said with a nod. "We're trying to keep things running as normally as possible while we try to figure out what to do and part of that is keeping activities going."

I hesitated not really sure that this was the best plan, wasting time going on with activities, when we heard a door bang open under us.

We looked at each other, then scrambled to the ledge of the roof to see several Apollo kids running out of the building, each with med kits and two of them carrying a stretcher.

"Not another one." I said softly but Thea had stood.

"Stay here." she said flatly and stepped off the roof.

She hit the ground running and caught up with the Apollo children in a matter of seconds. I waited for several minutes, feeling tense and wondering who it would be and what had happened.

I saw the crowd making their way to the Big House slowly, several people surrounding an unsteady figure. As they got closer, I felt a hollow blow go through me when I recognized the person in the center.

It was Stephanie.

She'd apparently refused the stretcher and was trying to walk on her own, but after a few unsupported steps, she collapsed.

"Steph!" I said in horror jumping off the roof and like Thea, running the second my feet hit the ground.

People were coming out of their cabins and running from their activities to see what had happened, so by the time I'd made it to the group, they'd been completely encircled by curious, and in some cases, fearful campers.

"Let me through!" I said furiously pushing people out of my way. "Stephanie!"

She turned when she heard my voice and I saw with a pang of fear that she looked extremely faint, with dark circles under her eyes and her face was white. She looked as if she wanted to talk to me, but more people had swollen the crowd and confusion was starting to spread.

"What's wrong with her?" someone yelled.

"Who is it?"

"Is someone else sick?"

People were panicking now but I didn't care.

"Move!" I shouted shoving a boy from the Iris cabin but felt someone grab me by the back of the shirt and drag me out of the crowd.

"You're not helping." Adam's voice said and I turned to face him. He looked angry but not as angry as I felt.

"She's my friend." I almost shouted at him.

"Yeah and she's sick," he said crossing his arms over his chest. "She needs to get to the Big House."

He was glaring at me in the way he always did when he wanted to remind people he was son of Zeus but though I might have been intimidated a year ago, I wasn't afraid. I was almost as tall as him now, and though I might not have been as powerful as he was, I was much faster. I was pretty sure I could take him in a fight.

"Why?" I asked bitterly. "None of you know what's going on. You can't help her."

"You think we're not trying?"

"Don't act like you care." I said my temper getting the better of me. "You hate the Aphrodite sisters."

In his anger, sparks shot from his finger tips, but his voice was controlled when he spoke.

"Of course I want her to get better. But she needs medical attention and you freaking out and starting even more of a panic is not going to help. You need to calm down."

"I need you to get of my way so I can see my friend!"

I tried to push passed him but he didn't move.

"Dennis use your head." he stiffly and I could tell his control was starting to slip. "Even if you could get into the infirmary you don't know anything about healing. You'd just be in the way."

"Get out of my way!"

"You're so hot headed." he said impatiently. "Think for a second. There's nothing you can do. This is the same exact attitude that got you stranded in Seattle and forced Thea and I to come after you."

I felt a stab of anger go through me, along with a bit of embarrassment. How could he throw that in my face now?

"At least I did something." I spat. "If it were up to you my father might still be trapped!"

Though I'd grown to accept Adam over the past few years, this was one of the things I couldn't stand about him. He was just too calm and careful all the time. He always had to do things the 'right way', even if it meant not doing everything he could to fix something. Nothing ever bothered him. He never freaked out. It was like he didn't care.

He seemed to know what was on my mind because he let out a sigh, and the anger seemed to fade from him.

"Look. I know you're upset-"

"Of course I'm upset! It's my friends in there! My brother and sister! Not yours!"

"So you should do what's best for them and-"

But I'd heard enough. I wasn't that tiny thirteen year old he'd had to rescue before coming to camp, or had to save in Seattle. I was just as capable as him in the arena, and I felt my axe grow in my hand before I was aware of going for it.

"Get out of my way." I growled.

"Dennis! Calm down!" a panicked voice said and I felt someone push my arm down.

I looked down to see Hannah, her eyes wide, looking up at me.

"What are you doing?" she hissed. "Are you trying to get electrocuted?"

I glared at Adam, but realized she was probably right. How many times had Thea told me not to start fights? And Adam wasn't a smart person to challenge no matter how furious I was with him at the moment.

I took several deep breathes and banished my weapon, but was unable to control my anger completely.

"Dad was right. I don't get what she sees in you." I said narrowing my eyes at him and he looked a little surprised. I didn't have to say Thea's name for him to know exactly who I was talking about. "It's like you're a robot."

"Dennis." Hannah snapped but I ignored her.

Didn't he realize what was happening? How bad things were getting?

"Don't you care at all? They're her brother and sister too. What if it was Thea in there? Then would you be so calm? Or would you even care?"

This had been a mistake. Fury flashed across his expression and thunder cracked above us, shaking the ground. A few girls screamed, but I was too angry to care. I almost wanted him to start a fight, but Hannah had already grabbed my wrist and started to drag me away.

"What on Olympus were you thinking?" she asked furiously when we hit the cabins, far from the rest of the campers who'd congregated outside the Big House. "You realize he could vaporize you don't you?"

"At least he'd be doing something." I muttered darkly.

"Get it together Dennis." she said. "Of course Adam has to stay calm. He could destroy the whole camp if he's not careful."

I didn't answer and she looked frustrated.

"You just had to bring your sister up didn't you? You had to push his buttons."

"Well it's an effective method." said a familiar voice and we both looked behind us to see Ryan leaning against the Aphrodite cabin, looking at us with mild interest. It seemed that she alone had resisted the temptation to see what was going on at the Big House. Apart from us there was nobody here. "It seems like she's the only that causes a lapse in his restraint. You are talking about Adam, right?"

"How long have you been there?" Hannah asked a little awkwardly and Ryan looked at her without emotion.

"I was already here. You guys brought your conversation to me. If you didn't want to be heard, you should have been a little more careful."

"What do you want Ryan?" I asked too irritated to deal with her usual manner of practiced apathy.

"Well, I figured if everyone is gone, we'd better start planning."

"Planning?" Hannah asked confused.

"What are you talking about?" I asked and she raised an eyebrow.

"We're sneaking into the infirmary tonight, aren't we?"

"You want to sneak in the infirmary?" Hannah asked in disbelief and I felt suspicion.

"Why?" I asked my eyes narrowing and she shrugged.

"Hey if you want to stick with the counselors' plan of doing nothing than be my guest. But seeing as you know everyone that's in there, I would have thought you of all people would want to do something."

"I do, but why do you care? You hate the twins, and I know you don't like Stephanie." I said and at this I saw she looked a little embarrassed. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the grass.

"I don't hate the twins. They're just annoying but that doesn't mean I wanted them to get sick and I dunno." she shrugged. "Steph's been really nice to me. I figure she's gotta be scared and, well, she might like a visit from a friend. Might make her feel better."

I stared at Ryan in complete shock, but Hannah was looking at Ryan with a strange expression. Almost as if she wanted to ask her something, but wasn't sure if she should.

"Since when are you friends with Steph?" I asked, but thinking back through the week, I realized I had seen them together quite a few times. Maybe it was just because of the fact that Ryan's default expression when she was around other campers was annoyed, that I hadn't realized this pairing had been intentional.

"Does it really matter if I'm friends with Barbie or not?" she snapped sounding much more like her usual self. "We should be planning not dissecting my social life. Thea's distracted. We should take advantage of that."

"You're right." I said then I looked down at Hannah. "You coming with us?"

She hesitated for a second, looking uncertain, but then glanced at the Big House which seemed to harden her resolve.

"Yeah." she said with a nod. "I want to see Laney. See if there's anything I can do to help her."

"Then let's get moving." I said looking over my shoulder to make sure no one was coming. "We're going to need as much time as we can get."

...

Several hours later, the plan was set. It had taken a long time, because after denying so many people the opportunity to visit their friends the counselors had taken to keeping an eye on the Big House to make sure no one did exactly what we were planning to do tonight and sneak in.

Finally, after the campfire which Ryan had attended for once, we'd gone back to our cabins to wait until the other campers fell asleep.

"Are you sure we should be bringing flower power?" Ryan muttered as we waited outside the Persephone cabin for Hannah. "She's hasn't got our abilities, what if she gets us caught?"

"Don't call her that." I said irritated. "And she'll be fine. She's got two dogs and an ex-marine for a father and she still managed to sneak out whenever I picked her up past curfew at home."

"You're such a role model."

"Hey, I have at least avoided juvy." I pointed out.

"Technically so have I."

"Will you two shut up?" a voice whispered annoyed and we both jumped when Hannah dropped from the window of her bunk room. "You're going to get us caught."

"Told you she'd be fine." I said smirking at Ryan who shrugged and we started running towards the Big House.

"You guys remember the plan right?" I asked as we crouched under the window in Chiron's office. While usually a place that needed to be avoided when sneaking around camp past lights out, Ryan had correctly assumed that it was the one place that was likely to be unwatched.

Hannah nodded while Ryan scowled.

"We're not idiots. Besides, this was my idea."

Refusing to get drawn into an argument when silence was so critical, I ignored this comment and poked my head above the ledge.

"No one." I said in satisfaction. "You were right."

"Of course I was."

I mentally unfastened the latch on the window and slid it open, then pulled myself through it. I extended a hand to Hannah which she took and I pulled her through, but when I reached down for Ryan she ignored it and climbed in on her own.

The room was dark, as was the rest of the house, and looked exactly the same as it always had when he'd called me in here to yell at me. The walls were covered in the same pictures and the desk covered in papers. It was almost as if Chiron had been here this very night.

"Ok." I said keeping my voice low as Ryan silently shut the window behind us. "We know some of the Apollo kids and a few of the cabin heads are here to keep an eye on the sick campers during the night, so we're going to have to make a distraction. I'm going to sneak up to the attic and let off these firecrackers." I said patting my book bag to make sure they were still there. "You two make sure the coast is clear and that they've all gone to find the noise. If some stick behind, find something else to draw them out."

"Right." Hannah said with a nod.

"Meet at the infirmary door in five minutes."

But as soon as I picked the lock to Chiron's door open and stepped out into the hall, the lights flickered on.

"What the-?" I started but someone grabbed my shoulder and I was dragged away from the door.

Hannah cried out in shock and I heard Ryan swear, but just as my battle instincts took over and I went for my axe, something grabbed my wrist and it was twisted behind my back.

"That won't end well for you." said a voice and I felt a surge of dread go through me.

"How did you know?" I asked as Adam let go of me and I rubbed my wrist.

I turned to see his friend Kyle had gotten a hold of Ryan and Hannah was struggling against Derek, the head of the Ares cabin's, grip.

"You think after all the time I spend around your sister I don't know how a child of Hermes thinks?" He asked raising an eyebrow.

"Where is she?" I asked a pang of fear going through me.

"You don't need to look so worried. I convinced her to go back to your cabin for the night." he said looking at me with disapproval. "She's been spending nights here since Kevin was admitted but she needed sleep. Lucky for you. She wouldn't be happy to see you here."

"What should we do with them?" Kyle asked a little awkwardly but was then slightly distracted by the fact Ryan was trying to elbow him.

"Get off of me creep." she said sounding furious.

Hannah was struggling too, not that it did her much good. Derek was at least twice her size.

"Let them go at least." Adam said but Kyle had already released Ryan, who's elbow had finally connected. She'd hit him in the face.

"What is wrong with you?" he asked furiously and Ryan glared at him.

"I don't like to be touched."

"Usually we'd let Chiron figure this sort of thing out?" Derek said releasing Hannah and ignoring Kyle's difficulties. "Maybe we should just bring them back to their head of cabin?"

Another pang of fear went through me when I thought of Thea's reaction to me one, getting caught in general, and two, trying to break into a quarantine. I glanced at Adam who was looking at me with a frown and a calculated expression.

"Honestly I don't know how much good it'll do." he said with a shrug. "They're just going to try again."

"So what? You just want to let them go?" Kyle asked indignantly.

"You've got to be kidding me." Derek said. "We can't let them in there! What if they get sick?"

"They knew that when they came tonight." Adam said dispassionately. "If it means that much to them, let them. If it was other campers I'd agree with you but no point in trying to keep Dennis out. He's like Thea, he'll find away in."

"That doesn't mean we should open the door for him!" Derek almost shouted.

"Then try and stop him if you want." Adam said shrugging again. "Just don't expect me to help."

I looked at Derek who was sizing me up. He was another that used to terrify me when I was younger, but I was taller than him now and I could tell he was debating if a fight was worth it.

"I still think it's a bad idea." he muttered while Kyle frowned, but didn't raise an objection.

"Why'd you change your mind?" I asked Adam suspiciously.

"I don't see the point in wasting energy trying to stop you." he said crossing his arms over his chest.

"But earlier-"

"You almost started a riot." he said. "You were one push away from getting Stephanie caught in a fight. If you want to visit them I'm not going to stop you. Though, I can't promise you'll like what you find."

I hesitated, but then started to walk towards the infirmary with Hannah and Ryan on my heels.

We made it to door and I paused remembering what Adam had said, and wondering what was waiting for me other the other side.

"Well, are we doing this or not?" Ryan said grabbing the knob and pushing open the door.

Unsurprisingly, everyone was asleep. I saw a curtain had been placed around the bed where I assumed Chiron was, probably to avoid upsetting the responsive patients, but I noticed the temperature in the room was several degrees cooler than it had been in the hall and I felt Hannah draw closer to me as we stepped into the room.

"I don't like this." she said quietly.

"Is it just me or is it darker than it should be in here?" Ryan asked looking around in the shadows.

"It's night Ry."

"Gee I hadn't noticed." she said sarcastically. "But the moon is out tonight. Shouldn't it be brighter in here?"

I looked around too and found I couldn't help but think she was right. Something about the darkness in the room reminded me of when I'd been in Hephaestus's forge, in the parts that had been taken over by the gods Phobos and Deimos. Something about that place had been unnatural, and I got the same sort of vibe from the room.

"Something doesn't feel right." Hannah said apparently thinking along the same line as I was. She looked very disturbed and I thought I knew why. Her powers were centered around youth and new life of spring. I had a feeling she was far more aware of the failing health in the room than either Ryan or I were.

I looked at her for a moment, wondering why it hadn't occurred to anyone to ask the Persephone campers to try and sense anything, but before I could say this, the light flickered on.

"What?" Ryan asked defensively as we both stared at her indignantly and the infirmary occupants started to wake. "Were you planning on just staring at them all night?"

"Dude!" said an excited voice and I looked up to see a pale, but excited looking Kevin sitting up in his bed. Jessica was rubbing her eyes but grinned when she spotted me. "How'd you get passed the counselors?"

"You know me." I said. "Thing just tend to work out."

I smiled as I walked towards their beds, but it felt a little forced. Jessica was coughing and both of them looked exhausted.

"What are you doing here?" Jessica asked in amazement as Hannah drifted over to Laney and Ryan hesitated glancing at the twins, but then went to sit on the foot of Stephanie's bed. "Aren't you afraid you'll get sick?"

"I'm not afraid of a couple of germs." I said sitting on her bed and Kevin groaned, looking a little dizzy before laying down again.

"You should be." he said between rasping coughs. "This suuuuuucks."

I glanced at Laney, who seemed to be having trouble sitting up as well as she tried to talk to Hannah.

"Is anything helping?" I asked glancing at Stephanie who'd pulled Ryan into what looked like a bone crushingly tight hug.

"No." Jessica said shaking her head looking a little scared. "I mean sleep helps a little but we're afraid to for too long."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because that's how Chiron ended up not waking up." Kevin said. "It's all Laney does now. She only wakes up for meals and when the Apollo kids are trying to heal us."

He sneezed then groaned holding his ribs which must have felt awful after a week of coughing so much.

I looked at my siblings and felt a wave of sadness threaten to overwhelm me. Any other summer and we'd have spent this time plotting pranks and trying to find ways of causing trouble right under Thea's and Chiron's noses. Why was everything going so wrong?

"Laney looks a little better right now." Jessica said with a slight hopefulness in her tone and I glanced over at her bed. Hannah had brought her a couple of daffodils from the Persephone cabin's green house. She'd managed to sit up, propped on several pillows and was smiling asHannah changed the colors of the petals for her amusement.

I glanced at Stephanie's bed where she was quite happily braiding Ryan's hair. Ryan didn't look as happy, but I could tell she was refraining herself from complaining while to cheer up her friend.

Hannah noticed this as well, then caught my eye. She grinned, obviously amused.

"At least it's not freezing in here anymore." Jessica said. "We've been complaining to the Apollo kids to turn up the heat for days. Looks like they finally did."

This confused me for a moment, until I realized that it was suddenly much warmer in the room. What was going on?

"Hey, if Hannah's doing flower deliveries, can I get a few daisy next to my bed?" Jessica asked bringing my attention back to her. "I'd like to have something to stare at other than Kevin."

"Why? Are you jealous that I'm the better looking one?" he asked with a smirk and she tried to throw a pillow at him, but I caught it before it could make contact.

"Play nice. You guys are sick you don't need to be trying to kill each other with pillows." I said trying not to cringe when I realized that was exactly the sort of thing Thea would have done when in 'counselor mode'.

"Ok Dad." Jessica said rolling her eyes.

"Dude, we've got Thea checking up on us every hour, we don't need you to do her job for her." Kevin said annoyed.

"Well can you at least try and not kill each other while I go say hi to Laney and Steph?" I asked.

"But we're bored." Jessica complained.

"Yeah, you know how it is, we're not meant to be confined to a room. Hermes kids are supposed to run around and cause havoc."

"Well you can do that when you get better." I said amused while handing Jessica back her pillow and crossing the room to where Stephanie's and Laney's beds were. Stephanie was still 'beautifying' Ryan's hair, so I decided to talk to Laney first.

"Hey." I said and both she and Hannah looked up, Hannah from the foot of the bed where she was sitting.

"Hey." Laney said then coughed. I felt my stomach sink when I heard how weak her voice was. "You didn't come here 'cuz you broke anything did you?" she asked with a wheezing laugh.

"Nope." I said trying to smile. "I am perfectly alright."

"Physically maybe." she muttered. "Mentally I think we've got some work to do."

Hannah laughed.

"So you don't have any idea what's going on?" I asked her and she shook her head. Even that minuscule movement seemed to drain her of her energy because she closed her eyes and leaned farther back against her pillows.

"I wish I did Dennis." she said quietly. "I really do but I've never treated something like this before. I can't figure out what's causing it or how people are getting it. My siblings have called my dad, and even he can't seem to find a cure."

"How is it possible that no one knows what this is?" I asked as she coughed again. She was even paler than Kevin.

"I couldn't tell you." she said weakly. "I wanted to use my time here to research, I even had your sister pull some books for me." she gestured towards a stack of them on her nightstand. "But I'm just so exhausted."

"You don't need to be doing anymore work." Hannah told her in a comforting manner. "Just focusing on getting better."

"Do you mind if I take a look at these?" I asked picking up one of the books.

"Go ahead." she said vaguely. "At least someone will be reading them."

I opened the book to see that Laney had been reading the old mythology stories, obviously trying to find a story with similar circumstances, but none came to mind. I made a mental note to ask Thea. I had no memory for these kinds of stories, but having lived at camp for years Thea was full of them.

"Hannah." Stephanie said brightly and we all turned to look at her. She was looking extremely happy having pulled Ryan's hair into an very pretty but complex braid. "Do you think you could find some flowers that would set this off?"

Ryan glowered but kept her mouth shut, and I could tell it was taking everything in Hannah's power to keep herself from laughing.

"I've got just the thing."

She took one of the daffodils she'd brought Laney out of the vase on her nightstand, then after a look of concentration, there was a flash and she was holding a handful of small flowers with blue petals.

"Perfect!" Stephanie cried happily as Hannah held up her hand so Stephanie could set them in Ryan's hair.

Ryan shot Hannah a look that promised pain, which Hannah ignored and I walked over to Stephanie.

"How are you feeling?" I asked as Stephanie continued to strategically place flowers.

"Well today kind of sucked." she said admiring her handy work as she positioned the last blossom at the end of the braid and looked up at me. "But it's great now."

"For you." Ryan muttered.

"Hey, I'm sick." Stephanie said looking positively cheerful about it. "You, miss storm cloud, have to be nice to me."

"Do you have any idea what's going?" I asked. She looked much better than the others, but I knew it was only a matter of time before she ended up like Laney, hardly able to talk.

"If I did don't you think I would have told someone?" she asked raising an eyebrow. "Ryry's got a theory though." she said nudging Ryan. "I can tell."

"Shut up Steph." she muttered and I had the feeling she was avoiding my gaze.

"What is it?" I asked quickly.

"It's nothing." Ryan said still not looking at me.

"Ryan if you think you know something you need to tell someone."

"It's probably just a coincidence."

"What is?"

"Well." she said a little awkwardly. "Look around Dennis. What's the one thing these people all have in common?"

"Nothing." I said frowning. They weren't in the same groups at camp. None of them with the exception of the twins were in the same cabin. And from what I could tell, they didn't even have a lot of activities together. "What are you talking about?"

She hesitated again, and I was amazed to see she looked worried. She'd completely abandoned her usual indifferent attitude. She looked as if she didn't want to say what she was about to.

"Haven't you noticed Dennis?" she asked quietly. "They're all close to you."

I felt a cold sense of dread spread through me as I looked around the infirmary. What I saw made my blood turn to ice. My siblings, my friends, and behind the curtain, my mentor. Ryan was right and I was wrong. These people were connected. Through me.

I fell into a chair next to Stephanie's bed and put my head in my hands.

"I told you you wouldn't like what you'd find." Adam said and I looked up to see he was leaning against the wall next to the door, his expression unreadable.

"You knew?" I asked him furiously.

"Thea figured it out." he said. "After she saw it was Stephanie who'd collapsed earlier."

"Why didn't she tell me?"

"Because you're her little brother." he said shrewdly. "She wanted to protect you. She'd rather you didn't find out. But you had to have it your way."

"But if it's my fault-"

"It's not your fault." he said flatly. "You didn't spread this thing around. Whoever did is to blame, but whoever it is is probably angry at you."

"Is that why you let us in?" Ryan asked. "You wanted us to figure it out?"

"But what good does that do?" Hannah asked looking upset. "All it does it make Dennis feel bad."

"Because he can start trying to figure out what he did that put all this into motion." He said and I was surprised to see he was looking at me very intently. "Can you think of anything you might have done? Anyone powerful enough to do this that you might have angered?"

"I-I don't know." I said very aware of everyone staring at me. I'd been on a lot of missions where I'd killed powerful monsters, but nothing I could think of to cause something like this.

"That's not an answer." he said sounding frustrated. "Think."

"Why does it matter to you?" I asked in confusion. I couldn't seem to get my thoughts in order. Panic was clouding my mind.

"Well that's obvious." Ryan said and we all looked at her. "If whatever is going on is targeting people you care about, I think Adam's figured out that there's a good chance that his fiance is next."


	11. Chapter 11

Hpov

Dennis didn't talk after we left the infirmary and while I wanted to make sure he was ok, Ryan held me back.

"It's not going to do any good." She said grabbing my shoulder as I tried to go after him. He was heading for their cabin.

"I'm his best friend." I said angrily. "I've known him a lot longer than you."

"Yeah, which is why it will just make him feel worse." She said crossing her arms over her chest. "Or has it not occurred to you that you're probably on the list too?"

I hesitated. The truth was I hadn't thought of that.

"Dennis needs to time to deal with this on his own." She said looking after her brother, and I was surprised to see concern in her expression. "And you reminding him of everything he stands to lose at this point is not going to help."

"What do you think he's going to do?" I asked. It was dark, but even as his figure was swallowed up by the night I could see how tense he was. I didn't know if he was angry or scared, maybe both, but I'd never seen Dennis look so upset. Usually he was laughing or causing trouble, but there had been no trace of his usual smile in his expression. It was almost like the boy who left the infirmary wasn't my best friend.

Ryan didn't answer me, she was looking after Dennis too.

"Adam shouldn't have sprung it up on him like that." I said quietly hugging myself. I still felt uneasy from being in that room surrounded by whatever was causing this and now Dennis was upset. I'd always hated it when he was angry.

"I think he did the right thing." She said with a shrug and I felt a stab of anger go through me.

"He was totally blind sided!"

"And how else should we have told him?" she asked raising an eyebrow. "Look, I know you like things to be super nice and polite Hannah, but the fact is Dennis has a real problem here and no matter how badly you and Thea want to protect his feelings, being nice isn't going to fix this so what's the point?"

"The point is we should be trying to make him feel better not worse!"

"Pretending for his sake won't do him any favors, and it definitely won't be doing the people in there any favors." She said gesturing towards the Big House. "Sometimes life just sucks and there's no getting around it."

"That doesn't mean you don't have to care about people's feelings." I said annoyed. "At least I care enough about Dennis not to want see him go through pain. You're his sister, you should _want_ to help."

She didn't answer, but her face was expressionless again and I found her complete lack of empathy infuriating.

"You think you're so much better than everyone because you act like you don't care about anyone else, but you're not. It's easy to be a pessimist like you Ryan, to pretend not to feel anything so you don't have to lift a finger when things get difficult for the people in your life."

"You don't know anything about me." She said quietly, but I heard anger in her tone.

"Well then why don't you enlighten me?" I asked. "What in Hades could possibly happened to you that makes you so afraid to express any kind of feeling?"

She didn't answer, but her expression was hard to read. I expected her to be furious, but she wasn't.

"Like you'd understand." She said and while her tone was controlled, I heard a great bitterness behind it. She gave me a look of blatant dislike and started to walk away.

I watched her go feeling completely confused. She followed Dennis pulling her hair out of the braid and I saw the flowers fall to the ground.

Not knowing what to do, I made my way back to my cabin feeling as if instead of helping, I'd just made things worse. Dennis was miserable, now I'd managed to chase Ryan away too, and after everything tonight we still hadn't managed to figure out what was wrong with the sick campers.

I snuck back into my bunk room, careful not to wake my sisters and braced myself for another night of nightmares.

…

The next few days were probably the worst I'd ever had at camp. Dennis barely spoke to anyone, even me, and I hadn't seen him laugh once. When I did see him, his expression was impossible to read, but he kept to himself and I had the feeling he didn't want to be alone so much as feel like it was what he deserved.

He was furious with Thea for not telling him about her suspicions as to who was being targeted and why, and I knew he was even angrier with himself. No matter what anyone said I knew he blamed himself.

"I don't know what to do Elle." I said as we walked towards the arena together. In a last-ditch attempt to get people's minds off of the current crisis, the head counselors had decided to allow the chariot race Chiron had promised at the start of the summer activities. "I can't fix the plants so that they survive outside our cabin, I can't even figure out what's wrong with them, and now I can't even cheer up my best friend."

"Well to be fair, no one can figure out why all the plants are dying." She said quietly. "And he's barely talking to Thea so it's not like it's you."

"But I can't do anything!" I said in frustration. Never had I felt more useless in my life. It was bad enough I always had to hide behind Dennis whenever we ran into monsters, but now I couldn't even help save his family and friends. To make it worse, I couldn't make him feel better about it.

"It's not like you're doing nothing." She pointed out as we took seats in the nose bleed section. "You've been reading all those books."

"Yeah." I said a little dejectedly. We'd split up the books Laney had been reading between Dennis, Ryan, and I but I was struggling. They'd both already finished two books while I was struggling to finish my first. My Dyslexia always got worse with stress and with everything going on lately, I was struggling just to read a couple pages at a time.

"Don't be so hard on yourself." Elle said then waving at a three of blonde campers walking into the stands. Adrian, his sister Isabelle, and Ryan.

Adrian waved back and said something to Isabelle who nodded. They looked at Ryan who shrugged, then the three made their way up to us.

"Hey." Elle said brightly as Adrian sat next to her.

"Hey Elle, hi Hannah." He said nodding to me after greeting Elle. Isabelle sat next to him and I was surprised to see that Ryan, who'd been ignoring me completely since our argument, sat next to me.

"I need to talk to you." she said her voice low.

"About what?"

"Not here. Just come with me." She muttered grabbing my arm and standing but before we could take a single step, a hunting horn blared and we were trapped in the row by the crowd that were on their feet cheering.

She looked irritated but let go of me and we turned to see several chariots riding out into the center of the arena. They lined up obviously waiting for the second horn signaling the start of the race, and I spotted Dennis with his sister, both dressed in full armor looking ready for a fight.

I watched wondering what was going through the heads of those about to race. From what I'd seen during their practice runs they'd seemed excited but I felt if it were me I would have been scared out of my wits. Chariot races were historically violent events and each cabin involved had put in their toughest fighters. But maybe that was the difference between me, who was sitting in the crowd, and those down there who were ready to race. They were the most powerful demigods in camp. Not even my wildest dreams could I be considered that.

"Who do you think will win?" Isabelle asked her brother.

"I dunno." He said looking just as excited as everyone else in the crowd. "Adam and Kyle definitely have more fire power, and they both can strike from the distance, but Dennis and Thea have Tess building their chariot and they're devious. I'm sure they've got some tricks up their sleeves."

"What do you think Ryan?" Isabelle asked leaning forward a little bit to see her, and I noticed she suddenly looked less irritated.

Before she could answer the second horn blared and the crowd's shouts almost shook the stadium as the riders took off.

It took less than thirty seconds for the destruction to start. Derek and his sister Amanda crashed into the Hecate cabin's chariot knocking it's wheel off and causing it to spiral out of control. Several people got caught in the crash but both Dennis's and Adam's chariot managed to avoid the pile up. They took an early lead but the others that had made it through were hot on their trail.

I saw Kyle take his bow and start shooting at the break mechanism on the side of the chariot Dennis was on. Thea grabbed the reins and pulled them to the left as Dennis jumped the gap between the two chariots. He ducked a swipe from Adam's sword and knocked the bow out of Kyle's hands. Before either Kyle or Adam had known what had happened, he'd snatched it, and jumped back into his chariot with Thea. Both were laughing and waving as they pulled a head.

Dennis took the reins and handed the weapon to Thea, who started shooting at the wheels of the chariots behind them.

She'd only managed to knock out the Iris team when there was a crash of thunder, and the wind picked up in the stadium. Dennis and Thea were buffeted off course as they were hit with a monumental gust and by the way they were gripping their chariot, I knew it was all they could do from being blown right out of it.

While the two were fighting, Derek and Amanda had taken the lead, but it didn't last long. Adam shot lightning after them, and I saw Dennis press a button on the dashboard in front of him. A mini cannon rose out of the wall of the chariot and I heard the Hephaestus screaming their heads off in approval at their sister's handy work.

The wall next to Derek shattered as the cannon fired and they were forced to pull back to avoid drawing anymore fire.

The race continued like this for ten minutes, the crowd screaming and parts of chariots flying everywhere. Eventually Dennis, Thea, Adam, and Kyle were the last ones left in the race. Both of their chariots were trashed, and the weapons had come out, but just as they squared off for a fight on foot, a figure wandered into the center of the arena, looking a little dazed and completely dwarfed by the tall campers in full armor.

"What the-?" Adrian said while Ryan frowned.

"Who is that?"

But dread filled my stomach and it sank to the floor as I recognized the curly blonde hair and slight figure. A silence fell over the crowd as both Thea and Adam took of their helmets and quickly rushed to the girl. She was wearing a long white dress that looked like a toga, and seemed a little dazed, as if she wasn't quite sure where she was.

I glanced at Elle who looked as worried as I felt.

"That's Terra." I said softly as people around me started to whisper nervously.

"Is that supposed to mean something to me?" Ryan asked raising an eyebrow.

"She's the oracle." Adrian explained and Ryan looked at Terra with a critical interest.

"How come I've never seen her before?"

"She doesn't spend a lot of time in the main camp." Adrian continued. "She feels isolation helps her with her prophecy. Camp activities distract her."

"This can't be good." Isabelle said frowning and suddenly the arena was flooded with a green light as Terra's voice rang throughout the stands.

 _One by one, they will fall_

 _The love of a thief is no love at all_

 _Family and friends will not be spared_

 _A curse's burden cannot be shared_

 _An unlikely sacrifice, a choice to save_

 _His last hope from a fate so grave_

There was a flash and Terra swayed. Adam caught her and the stadium started to buzz as people started talking to each other about what they'd just heard.

I looked at Ryan.

"You don't think…"

"It means Dennis?" she asked quietly. "Of course it does. Come with me."

"But don't you think," I started awkwardly. "I mean. We should stay here. What if Dennis needs us?"

"Trust me, you'll be more helpful to him if you help me now."

"Why?" I asked following her as she pushed people out of her way, then moved towards the exit.

"Because I was talking to Steph last night and-"

"You broke back into the infirmary?"

"Can you stop talking for thirty second and listen to me?" she asked glaring at me as we stepped out of the arena.

I glared right back and she rolled her eyes.

"You can have Dennis yell at me for being rude later. Right now I need to know everything about the underworld."

"Why are you asking me?" I asked in surprise.

"Well your mother is the queen of it so you must know something about it, and I don't see any Hades campers around here. Do you?"

"What does she have to do with this? I thought you thought my powers were lame."

"Because Steph said something that reminded me of a story I heard. One of the myths she told me involving her mother. Something about Psyche and a box made of rosewood."

"But what does that have to do with my mom?" I asked and Ryan contemplated me for a moment.

"How much do you know about Stygian Sleep?"


	12. Chapter 12

Dpov

We never finished the chariot race. It was called off immediately when the prophecy had been made, and I found myself rushed to the Big House along with the rest of the head counselors while the rest of the camp was told to wait in their cabins.

I sat a little awkwardly next to Thea as the counselors called an emergency meeting. She'd remained unusually quiet over the past ten minutes. While the others shouted over each other, trying to figure out what to do about the prophecy, she'd done nothing but watch them and occasionally lean closer to Adam, who she was sitting next to, and say whisper something I couldn't hear.

There didn't seem to be a doubt in anyone's mind that I'd been the one the prophecy was referring to, but no one could seem to agree on what it all meant or what should be done. Derek wanted to put together a team for a mission, and initially he'd had a lot of support from the other cabin heads. It lead to debates on who should be on this team, until Kyle pointed out that no one had any idea what they'd even be doing. Tess had suggested several search parties sent out of the camp to try and find something that might be able to cure the sick campers, but ran into a similar problem. Seeing as no one had any idea what they were sick with, no one would know what to look for and it seemed foolish to risk so many lives for such a feeble plan.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Michael asked looking at Adam and Thea. He was the head of the Athena cabin and knew Thea quite well. "He's your brother."

She didn't answer for a couple seconds, apparently thinking about what she wanted to say.

"I'm just wondering why none of you are asking Dennis what he wants to do." She said eventually and immediately everyone looked at me.

"Well that's obvious." Henry, the head of the Aphrodite cabin, said a little annoyed. "He's the one who got us into this mess. We don't need him messing things up anymore."

"This isn't his fault!" Thea said heatedly.

"Don't be an idiot Thea." Henry snapped. "Everything was fine until the day he showed up! The prophecy mentions a thief, and all his friends are getting sick! Who else could it be? Or have you forgotten that my sister was perfectly fine until she got involved with him!"

"You're not the only one who's been affected by this." Kyle said angrily. "But you don't see me blaming Dennis."

"Well maybe you should!"

"Everyone just needs to calm down." Adam said when Kyle looked as if he were going to shout right back. "Arguing's not going to settle anything. We're wasting time."

"I don't see you suggesting anything." Henry spat.

"I think Thea's right." He said shrugging. "We should be talking to Dennis, not yelling at each other. We've never blamed a demigod for a prophecy that's been made about them, why should we start now?"

"What a shock." Derek muttered, apparently unable to stop himself. "You're doing exactly what Thea's telling you to do."

To my very great surprise, it was Tess who responded to this.

"Shut up Derek." She was usually pretty quiet when talking to anyone other than Thea, but she was glaring furiously at Derek. "Just because you've got half a brain-"

"You want to say that again gear freak?" he snarled reaching for his sword and standing so quickly his chair toppled.

"Both of you calm down." Michael said cutting in. "Adam's right we're not getting anywhere. I also happen to think Thea's right by the way. We need to figure out what happened before we can figure out how to deal with this situation."

"She's his brother!" Henry shouted incredulously. "Don't you think that makes her a little bias? Besides, this is the same kid who ran off chasing Deimos and Phobos two years ago, and has been causing havoc in camp since the day he met her! Of course he pissed someone off! It's what everyone in that cabin does best! Maybe if we just chuck him out this will all stop!"

He glared at Thea and I was about to respond furiously but Adam had had enough.

"If you've got a problem with the Hermes campers you've got a problem with me." He said crossing his arms over his chest and people looked worried. Though he'd avoided starting a storm, we all could feel the power growing around him. "I don't remember any of you having a problem with Thea and Dennis we stopped Deimos and Phobos over throwing Olympus. How many of your siblings has he saved on extraction missions bringing new demigods safely to camp?" he asked glaring around at the counselors. "No one was complaining then."

No one had a response to this and I felt shock going through me. Adam was defending me? After everything I'd said to him?

"I know you're upset Henry." Thea said her voice calm. "But you're not the only one with siblings at risk."

"But he doesn't even know what he did." This voice was new and I looked up to a girl, much younger than the rest of the other campers, with long red hair and deep blue eyes that almost looked purple. I didn't know her name, but I knew she was the head of the Hecate cabin. "How are we supposed to do anything when he doesn't have any information?"

"We can help with that."

We all turned to see the door being pushed open, and in walked two girls.

"Hannah?" James, the head of the Persephone cabin, asked in surprise while Derek muttered. "Oh Gods, there another one." As he spotted Ryan.

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked feeling a little surprised. Hannah was holding a book in her arms and was looking extremely nervous to have so many eyes on her. Ryan, as usual, was expressionless.

"Ryan thinks she knows what's wrong with the campers." Hannah said quickly, her face flushing.

Immediately people started talking at once.

"What do you mean?" Henry asked while Michael said. "What is it?"

"How did you figure it out?"

"Who's doing this?"

Hannah looked a little overwhelmed by the attention and Ryan seemed to notice this because she yelled.

"Will you all shut up? Let the girl talk, Gods!"

Instantly the noise died.

"Right." Hannah said awkwardly. "So. Well, right. Ryan said Stephanie was telling her some of the myths, and everyone knows the story of Psyche right?"

Some people nodded but I saw Thea's eyes go wide.

"Of course." She said quietly.

"What?" I asked drawing everyone's attention in our direction.

"I'm such an idiot." She said her eyes still wide with dawning comprehension. "Why didn't I see it?"

"Why didn't you?" Ryan asked frowning.

"Thea, what's going on?" Adam asked.

"The Myth of Psyche." She said and I noticed Henry had a similar expression of realization. "When she was preforming tasks for Aphrodite. She was put under Stygian sleep."

Silence filled the room as the weight of this seemed to hit everyone in the room.

"But that doesn't make any sense." Michael said.

"Of course, it does!" Henry said. "I can't believe we didn't think of it before. It perfectly matches what's happened to Chiron."

"No, it doesn't." Adam agreed. "Or are you saying that Dennis has managed to anger someone from the underworld? What could he possibly have done?"

"Who cares?" Kyle asked. "We know what's wrong with the sick campers, we can cure them. I say we worry about why this is happening later."

Several people seemed to agree, some even nodded but I saw that Thea looked worried.

"So, we know what's wrong with them, great." Derek said frowning. "But we still don't know how to cure them."

"What does the myth say?" Michael asked.

Thea responded.

"The myth says that Eros saved Psyche by containing the sleep and waking her up by a prick from an arrow." She frowned. "But something tells me it's not going to be that easy."

"Lucky for us." Ryan said drawing everyone's attention back to her. "Hannah's got a solution for that."

Hannah went bright red but quickly flipped open a book, and I realized that it was catalogue that looked to be hand written.

"This is everything we, my sibligns and I, know about Mom's, I mean, my-our mother's garden in the Underworld." She said quickly sounding nervous and flustered. She quickly flipped through the pages and showed the room a sketch of a rose. "The second Ryan said the people in the infirmary were under the influence of Underworld power, I thought of this."

I looked at James who was frowning but didn't look like he was about to explain.

"And what _is_ it." Derek asked a little annoyed.

"It's the morning rose." James said. He was still frowning but I noticed he hadn't contradicted Hannah.

"Well that is super helpful." Derek sneered. "What does it _do_?"

"Well, we're not _totally_ sure." James continued ignoring Derek. "Only one of our siblings has ever managed to get their hands on one. But in her entry about it, she said those in who handled the rose could go weeks without sleeping, with no negative side effects."

"Well that would be helpful a couple days ago." Henry said. "But unless you've forgotten, Chiron's already asleep."

"Well," Hannah's face was bright red now. "The legend says Psyche woke up after a prick from an arrow, right? Roses have thorns. It has incredibly powerful magic. Maybe that would be enough to wake them up."

"I dunno Hannah," James said.

"Well it's the best idea we've had so far." Kyle said. "I say we get our hands on this thing and try it. Where can we find one?"

"It only grows in our mother's garden." James responded.

"Why?"

"Because it's made of gold." Hannah said. "Pure gold, but it's still alive. Only our mother is powerful enough to bring life to metal like that, and it can only be done in the underworld, where she's queen."

"So, ask her to bring one to camp." Michael said shrugging. "Seems pretty simple."

"We can't do that." James said and Hannah nodded looking a little disheartened.

"Why not?" I asked in surprise. I'd met Hannah's mom once, when she'd visited for Hannah's birthday last August. She'd seemed perfectly nice and agreeable enough with demigods. I couldn't imagine she would leave campers to suffer, not if she could help it.

"Because she's not in Hades right now." Hannah said. "It's summer."

This was met with silence as the impact of this hit us.

"Someone's got to go after it." Thea said eventually, saying what everyone else was afraid to.

"I will." I said automatically and while several people looked at me, no one disagreed.

"Well," Thea said with a grin. "You're not having all the fun without me. Adam?"

She looked at her fiancé who nodded.

"Hold on a second." Derek said annoyed. "Dennis going I'm ok with, but why should you guys get all the glory? You two don't even go on missions anymore."

"Oh get over yourself." Kyle snapped. "They're the three most experienced demigods in the camp."

"They're also two of the Head counselors." Michael pointed out. "I'm with Derek, I don't think they should leave. What if something else happens and we need them?"

"I'm not leaving Dennis to do this on his own." Thea said angrily. "What if he needs help?"

"Then we can send other people with him." Henry said annoyed. "Derek's right. Why do you three always get to do everything?"

"Are you serious?" Thea asked furiously. "Your sister is one of the sick campers, are you going to let your vanity get in the way of her recovery?"

"We've worked together before." Adam agreed. "Unless you want to throw two random people with Dennis while campers lives are on the line."

No one had an argument for this.

"It's settled then." He said standing. "Thea, Dennis, and I will go to the underworld, retrieve the rose. In the meantime, we need people to start coming up with a backup plan if this doesn't work. Everyone agree?"

A few people nodded.

Derek looked unhappy but didn't object.

"Good." Adam said then looked at me. "We'll leave tomorrow morning. In the meantime, go with Hannah, learn everything she can tell you about the gardens."

"What are you two going to do?" I asked.

"We're going to figure out how we actually get to the underworld." Thea said finishing for him.

"Alright." I said nodding then looking at Hannah. "You ready Han?"

She nodded.

I knew people were talking about me as I followed her and Ryan out of the room, but I tried to ignore it telling myself that Adam and Thea were right, and this wasn't my fault. Still, it felt like it.

"Good work guys." I said as we exited the Big House together and stepped outside. "I don't know what the camp would have done if you hadn't figured all this out."

Though we'd started the meeting in the afternoon, the sun was setting now.

"I'm sure someone would have figured it out." Hannah said sounding a little embarrassed and Ryan shrugged.

"Kind of sad the new girl figured it out really."

"Yes, but you're a lot smarter than most people." I pointed out.

"True. I guess flower powers aren't a total waste either." Ryan said mildly.

"Excuse me." Hannah said looking irritated.

"What?" Ryan asked looking genuinely confused. "Your idea is a good one. I'm giving you a compliment."

"It doesn't sound like it." mumbled Hannah.

"Ok I'm separating you two." I said cutting off the conversation before it could turn into an argument. "Hannah, let's go to your cabin. We've got a lot of work to do."

She nodded.

"I'll see you later Ry. Thanks for all your help."

"Yeah sure."

Hannah and I made our way to the Persephone cabin where several of her siblings were waiting eagerly in the living room that was over flowing with plants they'd been attempting to save from the purge.

"How did it go?"

"Why is Dennis here?"

"Did James agree with you?"

"I'll give you the details later." She said pushing past her siblings sounding a little harassed. "We've got to go to the green house."

"Why?" several of them asked but she ignored them and opened a door off the side of the living room and I followed her into a small room who's walls were made entirely of glass. The green house was even more crowded than the living room with plants, save for one shelf that was loaded with books.

Hannah struggled to reach it, and I grinned for the first time in days watching her jump hopelessly for it.

"You know you could ask me to help you." I said amused.

"I don't need you to do everything for me." She said blushing and walking down a long row of leaves returning with a chair.

She stood on the chair and took every single book off the shelf.

"Do we really need all of those?" I asked in shock.

"We've got a lot to cover." She said hopping off the chair. "There's more in my mother's garden than just a couple of petunias you know."

"No, I don't know." I said honestly.

"Well that's why you've got me." She said brightly. She looked much happier than I'd seen over the past couple of days, and I knew that was partly my fault by not talking to her much, but I also knew it was because she didn't get to showcase her abilities that often. She was always excited at a chance to prove herself.

"Come on." She said smiling at me over the pile of books. "We've got to get started."

Five hours later, it was almost midnight and I'd finally made it back to my cabin for the night.

I didn't turn the light on as I stepped into the main hall, people were supposed to be asleep and I didn't want to wake anyone up.

I made my way to the boys room and glanced at Kevin's empty bed feeling a swell of guilt surge through me.

I tried not to think of this, or anything really as I got ready for bed. I'd just gotten into my bunk when I looked out the window next to it. I frowned and sat up when I noticed something on the sill.

I glanced around the room, then silently opened it and saw a flower had been resting just outside the glass. I recognized it almost at once. It was white with layers of pointed petals and I remembered a conversation I'd had with Hannah in her garden back at home.

 _"How do you keep this stuff alive all year?" I asked as she wandered around the plants watering and pruning where she saw fit. "It's February."_

 _"Dedication." She said smiling and taking a pair of scissor out of her back pocket and cutting off a blossom from one of the bushes. "But this is for you."_

 _She handed me the flower which I took a little confused._

 _"Why?" I asked._

 _"You've got try outs tomorrow._ _Gardenia's are good luck_. _"_

I smiled as I picked up the flower and shut the window.

"Thanks Hannah." I said quietly.


	13. Chapter 13

Dpov

The next morning, I knew before even opening my eyes that something was wrong. I sat up quickly as a loud clap of thunder shook the cabin, rattling the windows.

"What the…"

I pushed off my blankets and ran to the windows to see what looked like a hurricane outside. Trees were bending so far under the force of the wind, it looked as if they might snap and it was raining so heavily, I could barely see the other cabins.

Lightning lit the room and more thunder shook the cabin.

"What's going on?" Jackson asked joining me at the window. "It never rains here unless…"

He didn't finish his sentence though as realization hit us.

It only ever rained in camp for one reason, If Adam was upset, and by the looks of this storm he was distraught.

"We've got to find Thea." Jackson said nervously as hail hit the window with a sickening 'CRACK!'. "She's the only one who can calm him down."

"I don't think we're going to find her." I said softly bitterness rising through me like bile.

"But-"

"What on earth do you think could have possibly made him this upset?" I snapped.

"You mean, you think that she-"

"Keep everyone inside." I said as the window was hit with another piece of hail and it cracked. "I'm going to go see if I can find him. See if I can't get him to calm down."

"You can't go out there!" he said his eyes wide.

"Either I go out there and calm him down or the storm comes in here."

I grabbed my shoes and made my way to the front door to see Ryan looking out of the girls' room.

"I think Mr. Calm and Collected might have cracked."

"Where's Thea?" I asked in a vain hope that she might be here and Adam was just over reacting to something as simple as a stubbed toe.

"She was she was meeting Adam at the Big House in the morning when she got back last night. If he's this upset, my guess is she didn't make it that far."

"Did she look sick?" I asked.

"No, but Steph didn't look sick the day before she collapsed either so that's not saying much. Any idea where Adam is?"

"Yeah, I think so." I said with a nod. Knowing was one thing. Getting there in this weather however, was another.

"Well you'd better go find him. Before he starts a tornado or something."

I nodded and made it to the front door only to be assaulted by the wind.

"Gods Adam." I muttered angrily, but my words were snatched away by the roar of the wind. "Calm down…"

I stepped off the porch and felt the rain and sleet hit the skin on my face stinging like needles. I tried to run but was nearly blown off my feet. Behind me there was a cracking noise and I saw a branch break off from one of the trees that lined the boundary of the camp.

I swore as lightening flashed again immediately followed by thunder and started running. Hannah had been right the other day. If he kept this up he was going to destroy the camp.

I made my way towards the Big House, half blinded by the rain, staggering from the wind, and praying that the lightning stayed in the sky.

With this weather, it took me nearly ten minutes to get to there, but was shocked when I reached the Big House to see that the weather above it alone was untouched.

I stepped out of the storm, sopping wet into a bright summer's day that only existed within a ten-foot perimeter of the building.

"What the?" I asked confused but I decided to ignore the irregularity when spotted the figure sitting alone on the roof, staring out at the storm over the camp.

"Adam!" I shouted but he ignored me. "Adam! You need to call the storm off!"

Again, he ignored me and I felt a stab of anger go through me.

"Fine." I said flatly and started to scale the side of the house.

He made no move to stop me, he hadn't indicated that he'd registered me at all but when I made it to the roof he said.

"You wanted to know how I'd feel if it happened to your sister." He said quietly still looking out over the storm. "Does this answer your question?"

"Dude you need to calm down." I said watching tiles flew off the roof of the armory.

He didn't respond.

"You've got to control this if you don't-"

"I can't." he said.

"What do you mean you can't?" I asked frowning.

"I mean." He said bitterness creeping into his voice. "I literally can't, this is all I can do." He gestured hopelessly at the sky above us. "All I can do is make sure it doesn't hit the infirmary."

"Then at least go talk to her." I said. Thea was the only one who seemed to be able to calm him down whenever he was really angry. The whole camp knew.

"I can't." he repeated and I felt a cold breeze pass over us. Clouds started to creep over us and he let out a noise of frustration. "She fainted this morning and she hasn't woken up, no one in the infirmary has."

The more he spoke he more I could hear his calm slipping and the darker the clouds above us got.

"They're all like Chiron now. Nothing we've tried is doing any good and if we can't wake her up-"

Thunder rumbled above us and I felt rain fall.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath and after a couple of seconds, the rain halted.

"Then we should leave." I said quickly. "Now. We should start making our way to the underworld before anything else can happen."

"I'm not going anywhere." He said opening his eyes and glaring at the storm.

"But-"

"Dennis, I'm not leaving your sister," he said cutting me off. "And I'm no use to you right now anyways. Unless you want a walking natural disaster following you around outside the camp."

I stared at him without knowing what to say. I'd never seen Adam this upset. I might have been older now, but suddenly I felt like that little kid again. The kid that had hidden behind him when monsters had almost killed me the first time I'd come to camp. He'd always been so steady, the strongest in the camp, the one person we could all count on to never lose it and could look to when things went wrong. No matter what I'd felt about him, he was always at least there. Now, the guy I'd been so in awe of, even afraid of, was completely incapacitated. He'd said it himself, he was useless and even worse, I didn't have Thea either. The one person who'd always been in my corner, who always managed to get me out of trouble was now unreachable.

"You're on your own Dennis." He said quietly. "Thea can't fix it for you this time."

He was right. I was alone. I couldn't go to Thea for answers or Chiron for advice. Adam was busy trying not to destroy the Big House to be any help and my closest friends and siblings were all done for unless I managed to do this on my own.

Panic started to fill me. How was I supposed to do this? I'd never gone in the underworld before, sure I was good at fighting monsters but this was totally different. This was on a whole new level, one I wasn't sure I was ready for.

'But you're not alone.' A small voice said in the back of my head. 'Not yet.'

The voice sounded like Thea and I could only imagine her expression if she saw me now, pitying myself when my friends needed our help. If she were here now she'd probably hit me and tell me to suck up, that I had a job to do.

"Try not to destroy the camp." I said looking down at Adam. "I'll figure it out."

"Head for central park." He said. "You can use the door of Orpheus to get to the Underworld."

I nodded and hesitated.

"I'm sorry." I said eventually. It felt weird to be comforting Adam. Thea was my sister after all. "I know you really care about her."

"Don't be sorry." He said shaking his head. "Just fix it."

"Right." I said and jumped back to the ground.

I ran back to the Hermes cabin where my siblings were crowded in the living room. The second I stepped inside, they bombarded me with questions about Adam and Thea, but I ignored them and looked at Ryan.

"Get packed." I said. "Time to test your training in the real world."

She didn't question me, just nodded and went to her room.

She didn't take long and part of me wondered if she'd guessed she was coming with me after Thea had been taken out of action.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Just come with me." I said knowing she was not going to be happy about it.

I grabbed my mission gear and together we stepped out into the storm. I was almost a little grateful for the lack of visibility provided by the heavy rain, Ryan didn't realize what cabin I was jogging towards until we were right outside it.

"Are you kidding me Dennis?" she shouted over the wind. "How is she going to help?"

I ignored her and pounded on the door.

"Dennis?" James asked his eyes wide as it opened. "What on Olympus are you doing outside right now?"

"Get Hannah." I said not bothering to answer his question. "I need her help."


	14. Chapter 14

I'm sorry this chapter took me so long to post. I got so slammed with school and a million other things. Thank you for all the reads/reviews/favorites, they mean so much. I hope you guys like this chapter!

~ secrethalfblood

Hpov

Getting out of camp was difficult, the storm seemed to be growing stronger the longer it lasted and it didn't stop once we'd cross the boundary.

We finally found shelter in a restaurant a little away from the camp that both Ryan and Dennis seemed familiar with, at least the owner seemed to know them, and took a booth in the back.

"Adam needs to learn how to control his temper." Ryan said glancing outside at the rain hitting the window. The storm had either blown over or his power was weaker this far away because it was just raining here, and I frowned at Ryan.

"He's afraid he's going to lose his fiancé." I said quietly. "Of course he's upset."

"She's our sister." Ryan said flatly gesturing between Dennis and herself. "You don't see us losing our minds."

"We don't have storm powers." Dennis replied sounding tired as he slid into the seat next to mine after talking to the owner. "Trust me, if I did, this diner wouldn't be here."

Ryan shrugged and looked out the window again.

"So how are we getting to the city?" I asked. It had been far too dangerous to fly a Pegasus in the storm.

"I already called a cab." Dennis said.

"And probably every monster in the state." Ryan mused. "Not that I'm complaining. I've been waiting for a chance to try this thing out."

She glanced at the book bag next to her at the water bottle compartment where I knew she'd stored the weapon she'd borrowed from the armory before we'd left. One of the better archers in her cabin, she'd grabbed a bow enchanted so that it could collapse to about the size of the average pencil case.

"Well let's hope you don't have to." Dennis said glancing at the dagger on my belt.

"How much is a cab to the city going to be?" I asked frowning. I didn't have that much money on me, I left most of my cash back home in Arizona.

"Doesn't matter, we're not paying for it." Ryan said holding up a black wallet with a smirk and nodding towards a man at the bar. "He is."

"When did you do that?" Dennis said amused as she chucked him the wallet and he opened it then thumbed through the bills.

"When we first walked in. What, you think I haven't been paying attention to your lessons?"

"I'm so proud." Dennis said beaming at her.

"Won't he notice his wallet's gone when he tries to pay?" I asked awkwardly. "And what about his ID and all that?"

"That's not our problem." Ryan said shrugging but I glanced at Dennis and his smile faded. He looked a little guilty.

"She's right."

"You've got to be kidding me." Ryan said irritated. "Now of all times you grow a conscious about stealing?"

"It's wrong." I protested and Ryan gave me a withering look.

"This is going to be a long trip, isn't it?"

"Like it or not," Dennis said as he pocketed one of the credit cards. "We're probably going to have to break a couple rules Hannah. It just happens on quests, but you're right, we shouldn't be obvious about it. I'll give him back the rest."

"Alright." I agreed quietly.

Dennis stood to return to wallet and Ryan gave me a shrewd look.

"What?"

"How the hell did you two last two years together?" she asked looking genuinely confused but before I could even think of a response to this, Dennis had returned and looked between us.

"Did I miss something?" he asked cautiously.

"No." I said as Ryan continued to frown at me. She almost looked disappointed I hadn't given her an answer.

"Well," he said in a tone that told me he knew I was lying. "There's the cab. We should get moving."

He led us out of the diner and to the yellow car waiting at the side of the road. I could feel Ryan's eyes on me all the way out of the restaurant.

"What?" I asked as Dennis slid into the back of the cab and told the driver where we wanted to go.

"Nothing." She said quietly shaking her head. "I just don't understand you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

She ignored this and slid in after Dennis and I stared after her, completely forgetting about the quest for a moment.

"You coming Hannah?" Dennis asked ducking down so he could see out of the door and I blinked.

"Yeah. Sorry." I said then took the seat next to Ryan.

The ride went by slowly, but no one really talked. Each of us seemed to be lost in our own thoughts. I glanced at Dennis a few times to see how he was taking the stress of his situation, but as usual his face was hard to read. Ryan, who for some reason had foreseen the need for a book, was reading and I ended up just staring out the window naming all the types of trees we passed in my head.

As we distanced ourselves from camp, the weather changed drastically. As we hit the city limits, there wasn't a cloud in the sky and when we stepped out of the cab, the sun beat down mercilessly on the concrete and asphalt.

I looked around glumly at all the skyscrapers feeling as if I were stuck in a giant cage. I knew most people loved New York, but as I took in all the cars and buildings I couldn't help but feel disappointed. There was hardly any plant life anywhere. Just looking around at the dirty streets and trash strewn all over the sidewalks made me feel slightly nauseous. The air was hot, muggy, and smelled like exhaust. It felt toxic to me.

I noticed Ryan didn't look very happy either. She'd slid out of the taxi after me as Dennis gave the driver the stolen credit card and was glancing warily at the floods of people that moved along the sidewalk.

"You'd better hope we don't get separated." She said dispassionately looking around at the crowd and pulling her hair back into a ponytail.

"Why?"

"Because we'd never find you in this." She said looking down at me.

"Are you seriously making a short joke right now?"

She didn't answer but looked back at Dennis who'd gotten out of the cab.

"Do you have any idea where we're going?" she asked.

"Nope." He said shutting the door behind him and the Taxi drove off earning several honks as it cut off multiple cars swerving back into the traffic. "Never been to New York in my life."

"Then what do you propose we do?" Ryan asked sounding annoyed.

"We could ask for directions." I suggested and Dennis shrugged.

"Yeah but truthfully I was planning on following you."

"Me?" I asked confused. "Why?"

"Because we're headed for Central Park." He said as if this were obvious.

"So?" Ryan asked.

"So, it's the only place with significant plant activity anywhere nearby. She'll find it."

I was surprised at how confidently he'd said this, as if there was no doubt in his mind whatsoever that I could, and while part of me felt a little uncertain, I couldn't help but smile slightly. Dennis was one of the very few people outside the Persephone cabin that didn't think our powers were a joke. Even more unusual was the fact that he actually had faith in them. We were often made fun of because we weren't exactly fighters but he'd never once made me feel like I was weaker than the other campers. Maybe that was one of the reasons I'd liked him so much when we first met. He was the first person who ever made me feel useful.

"Are you guys ready?" he asked and I blinked, then immediately looked away when I realized I'd been staring at him.

"Yeah." I muttered and we both looked at Ryan.

I could tell by her expression that she wasn't in love with Dennis's plan, but she didn't complain and he grinned at me.

"Well then Han, lead the way."

As much as I hated to admit it, Ryan was right. Being short and trying to walk through New York City was like being a minnow trying to swim upstream. The next ten minutes were extremely frustrating as I tried to push my way through the hordes of people on the sidewalk, bumping off of angry business men and dodging tourists every few seconds and it only increased my resentment for the concrete jungle I was trapped in. Of course Dennis and Ryan didn't have this problem. Both tall for their age and much more intimidating, they parted the crowd as they walked, even full grown adults swerving out of their way. If I was honest, part of me couldn't help but resent the fact that even though I'd been going to camp for years, I hadn't picked up the 'don't mess with me vibe' that most demigods learned from training in the arena. Ryan had, and she'd only been at camp for a couple of weeks.

Eventually I just walked behind them as they talked, occasionally telling them to take a turn or a cross a street when I sensed something.

We were almost there when Ryan stopped suddenly and I almost walked into her.

"You've got to be kidding me." She said flatly and we both looked at her.

"What?" Dennis asked in surprise and she rounded on me.

"You weren't about to tell us to take a left were you?"

"Yeah." I said uneasily. "Why?"

She groaned and smacked her hand to her forehead.

"This was such a waste of time."

"What are you talking about?" Dennis asked with a frown

"That!" she said gesturing down the street and Dennis and I turned to see she was pointing to a brightly lit shop with a vibrant outdoor display of…

I felt my heart sink.

"This whole time she wasn't taking us to the park." Ryan said annoyed. "She was going to-"

"A flower shop." I said quietly feeling disappointment and embarrassment flood through me.

"That's it," Ryan snapped. "I'm asking for directions."

She stormed off into a nearby coffee shop and I glanced up at Dennis who watched her go looking a little uneasy.

"I'm sorry." I mumbled still feeling humiliated. "I should have known it wasn't the park. I-"

"Don't apologize Hannah." He said looking down at me in surprise.

"But I just wasted so much time, and if we don't make it to the Underworld-"

"It's not your fault." He said shaking his head with a sigh. "If anything, it's mine. I'm supposed to be in charge of this quest. I should have had more of a plan."

"Ryan thinks it's my fault."

"I don't know what her deal is." He said frowning. "She's been getting along with people better at camp lately but-"

"She still doesn't like me." I finished for him and while he didn't say anything to this, I knew it was just because he didn't want to hurt my feelings.

I thought back to my argument with her, wondering if I should tell him about it, but before I could think of anything to say she'd returned.

"Well, the good news is we're not completely lost." She said looking at Dennis and ignoring me. "The guy at the counter said the park is a couple of blocks that way." She gestured towards the street to our right. "He wrote down the street names we need to look out for."

She produced a napkin with several hastily scribbled lines and Dennis smirked as he took it.

"He also wrote down a phone number. Guess he thought you were cute."

"Shut up." She said making an irritated noise, ripping the row of digits away from the street names, and tossing them into a nearby trash can.

"Well that seems kind of harsh." Dennis said amused. "Not your type?"

She gave him a flat expression.

"Let's just get to the park."

She turned and started walking down the street leaving Dennis and I to follow her.

As we walked, I couldn't quite shake the feeling of anxiety that had settled in me. Not only was I trapped in this man made monstrosity of a city, but the one thing Dennis was counting on me for I'd already managed to mess up. Part of me wondered after getting us lost if he'd still trust my powers, or would he just be annoyed like Ryan?

I glanced up at him to see he was scanning the crowd, his hands in his pockets, probably on the lookout for monsters, but he seemed to feel my gaze because he looked down at me.

"What?" he asked raising an eyebrow and I looked away quickly.

He didn't look angry but for some reason that didn't make me feel any better. What was I even doing here? I wasn't a strong fighter and I was probably the last person anyone would think to ask to join on a quest. Why out of all the powerful demigods in camp, had he come to me?

I wanted to ask him these questions, but I didn't have the guts.

Instead, I said. "Nothing." And kept walking.

It took us about fifteen minutes to reach the park, a time in which I'd nearly been run over by a bike messenger and we had to drag Ryan away from a knock off bag merchant she'd managed to insult, but I felt myself smile as we finally broke out of the endless walls of skyscrapers and stumbled into something green.

"Though you'd like it." Dennis said grinning at me.

I did. The transition from city to so much nature was a little startling, but instantly I felt myself relax as we crossed the street into the grass and I looked around at all the trees. We were by no means the only people here, like the rest of the city the park was extremely crowded, but at least here there weren't any buildings squishing us all together. I could feel the energy of the nature buzzing around me and for the first time since entering the city, I felt like I could properly breathe.

"Any idea what we're looking for?" Ryan asked her eyes sweeping over the people milling around in the summer heat, some lounging in the sun light on picnic blankets, other walking with families or significant others around the lake.

"Yeah, I've heard Adam talking to Thea about the door." Dennis answered. "It's in the south part of the park. We're looking for a cluster of boulders. Something big enough to hide the door we can walk through."

"And then what do we do?"

"We have to play music to open the door." He continued.

"Hold on a second." Ryan said glowering at him. "No one said anything about music. I am not about to sing show tunes just to open a door to the land of the dead. If that's the case then I'm heading straight back to camp."

"Relax, will you?" Dennis said rolling his eyes. "We don't need to. I've got this." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his iPod as well a small portable speaker. "Besides, you're forgetting we don't have much choice. The only other entrance to the Underworld is on the other side of the country and we don't have that kind of time. Unless you'd rather everyone in the infirmary to stay asleep permanently."

I could hear the bitterness in his tone and felt a little uneasy but I was surprised to see Ryan looked a little guilty.

"We should start searching." She said quietly.

We moved towards the southern end of the park, each of us scanning the area. Being so much taller than me, I wasn't surprised when the other two pulled ahead. Maybe that's why they didn't notice the pretty girl stepping out of a clump of trees that lined the lawn.

She had long red hair that was dotted with white flowers, and green skin that glowed like newly grown grass.

She was obviously a Dryad, though I'd never seen one outside of camp. I stopped for a moment in surprise and she seemed to spot me, because her purple eyes went wide. She hesitated for a moment, then beckoned for me to follow her.

I wasn't sure why, but I did. She looked worried, almost as if she needed help, and before I knew it I was jogging towards the tree line after the girl.

Up close I realized I was right. She did need help. She looked extremely weak and I noticed she was leaning against an Elm tree for support.

"Are you alright?" I asked in concern but she shook her head and started walking farther into the trees.

I faltered for a second, looking back over my shoulder to see Dennis and Ryan still walking. Obviously, they hadn't noticed that I was no longer behind them, but just as I thought about running back to get their attention, I heard a 'thud' and saw that the Dryad had stumbled and tripped.

I ran to her as she struggled to push herself back up, and helped her to her feet.

"What's wrong?" I asked and she gestured towards an oak tree with skeletal branches and its bark stripped in several places. Confusion filled me. It was summer, this tree should be littered with big, deep green leaves.

I felt a wave of sadness, however, wash over me as I realized what was going on. It was obviously her host and it was dying.

"What happened?" I asked softly helping her walk to the tree, but she was either too weak to speak or refused to do so. Instead, she leaned against the oak and slid into a sitting position, looking up at me with a pleading expression.

It was obvious she knew I could help her, but as I looked at the damage, I knew it wouldn't be easy. Usually with something this big, and this ill, I'd prefer to have some of my siblings help me but none of them were here. But as I looked at the exhausted spirit, I knew I couldn't do nothing.

"Hang in there." I said in what I hoped was the same sort of reassuring tone Dennis had always given me when we'd run into monsters.

I placed my hand on one of the bare spots of the trunk, feeling sick as I realized just how diseased this tree was. I grimaced and ignored the feeling, drawing energy from the nature around me. My hand started to glow, the same light green color as the skin of the Dryad and slowly, the glow spread from my finger tips to the bark of the tree.

As the light spread, I could feel the life force of the tree coming back. Buds dotted the branches and expanded as new bark started to stretch and grow all along the trunk. But even as I could feel it growing stronger, I felt the energy draining from me. I felt my legs start to tremble as fatigue crept up on me, but I continued.

The Dryad was on her feet now, looking at me curiously and I felt myself sway.

'Just a little bit longer.' I thought taking a deep breath as leaves burst out all long the branches a bright light green. They grew rapidly in size, darkening in color as I continued.

'Just a little more.' But even as I thought this, the world started to slide out of focus.

I swayed again but this time my knees buckled and I collapsed on the grass next to the tree, too exhausted to continue. The Dryad knelt next to me looking worried, but her eyes went wide as something came crawling down from branches of the tree.

It was small and jet black, it's armor like exoskeleton glittering eerily and immediately I knew what had been poisoning the Dryad. Pit scorpion venom was one of the most toxic among monster venoms.

It continued to crawl down the trunk, it's stinger arched high, ready to attack as it made it to the grass just feet from where I'd fallen.

I tried to get to my feet but it was no use, so exhausted from healing the host tree my legs wouldn't support my weight. The Dryad rushed to try and pick me up, pull me away but it was too late. The scorpion was running now. In desperation, I pulled Dennis's dagger from my belt. I threw it at the scorpion but it launched itself at me, jumping so fast it was nothing but a glittering black blur.

Just as it was about to land on my leg and I knew I'd never be able to make it to a healer in time, I heard a 'hiss' and then a solid 'thud'. I looked up to see the scorpion had been caught mid jump by an arrow and pinned into a nearby pine.

"Hannah!" someone shouted and I looked over to see Dennis sprinting at full speed towards me Ryan, her bow in her hand, hot on his heels.

The Dryad's eyes went wide and vanished in a shower of green mist just as Dennis knelt next to me and put my arm around his shoulders to help me up.

"What the hell did you go running off for?" Ryan asked furiously.

"The Dryad." I said looking around for her but she was long gone. "She… her tree, it was dying."

"Why didn't you say something?" Dennis asked his voice calm but it shook slightly.

"There wasn't time."

"So instead of taking the thirty seconds it would have taken to let us know where the hell you were going, you decided to almost die."

"I-" I started but apparently, she wasn't finished.

"What were you thinking?" she spat.

"Calm down." Dennis said in warning.

"No!" she continued heatedly as I stared at her in shock. I'd never seen her this angry. "I told you bringing her was a bad idea! Ever since we got here all she's done is waste our time and nearly get herself killed!" Her words went through me like knives, but I could tell she was so furious with me at the moment, she didn't care. "We haven't even found the door to the Underworld yet, and already she's gotten in so over her head she can't even stand on her own!"

"Ryan that's enough!" Dennis shouted and she looked surprised for a moment, but then threw him a resentful look.

"How can you defend her?" she asked in disbelief and I was stunned to hear fear creeping into her voice as she continued. "Have you forgotten that every second we waste here is time we can't get back? What if we take too long Dennis? What if we can't wake them up?"

"We will." He assured her but she was far from comforted.

"I'm not going to stand here and let her burn up whatever time one of the very few people on this planet that I actually care about has left."

She shook her head.

"Do whatever you have to do to get her ready to go through the door." She said darkly. "If she's not ready by tonight, I'm going whether you guys are with me or not."

We watched her walk out of the trees and back towards the lawn of the park, my arm still around him.

We stood in silence for a moment, both of us uncertain how to handle Ryan's emotional explosion but the longer it lasted, the longer the silence pressed in on me like a horrible crushing guilt.

"I'm sorry." I said quietly. "Ryan's right I shouldn't have gone off on my own, I'm not like you guys I almost got myself killed."

He didn't answer so I kept talking just to fill the quiet I found so unnerving.

"Lately it's seems like I never know what I'm doing or I'm just screwing everything up. Maybe she's right, maybe I shouldn't be here."

"Don't say that Hannah." He said flatly. "Yeah you should have told us before you ran off but you're here because I need you to be."

"But why?" I asked quietly. "I'm not smart like Ryan, I'm not brave like you. I'm not good at anything."

"I think she'd disagree." He said nodding over his shoulder and I looked back to see the Dryad had returned, peeking out shyly from behind the trunk of the oak. Her eyes went wide when she noticed Dennis had spotted her and she hid behind the tree which looked as healthy as the its neighbors. "You saved her from pit scorpion venom. That's something Ryan and I could never do."

"But what does that have to do with the mission?"

"No one knows as much about your mother's garden as you. Why do you think Thea told me to go with you the night before she got sick? There isn't a person I trust more to help get me through it safely than you. You were the only one who figured out what might wake the campers up when no one had a clue what to do."

"That doesn't help if I'm constantly holding you back, putting you and Ryan in danger because I can't defend myself."

"Who cares if you're not great with a sword?" he asked putting his arm around my waist to steady me as we started walking towards the edge of the trees. "That's what you've got me for."

"I can't believe she got so mad." I said quietly. "I've never seen Ryan like that before."

"Yeah I guess she was more freaked out about what happened to Thea than she let on."

"I don't think she was talking about Thea." I said shaking my head and he looked down at me in confusion.

"If it wasn't Thea, then who was she talking about?"

I didn't answer at first, but thought back to the first argument I'd had with Ryan, when she'd gone to follow Dennis back to their cabin that night we'd gone to the infirmary. That night there was only one person she'd really talked to. It was the same person she'd gone to a party for even when she didn't want to go, the person she'd let do her hair without complaint, the person she let drag her to activities I knew she'd otherwise skip just as a favor to keep boys from pestering her 24/7.

"I think she was talking about Stephanie."


	15. Chapter 15

Dpov

I found Ryan on a bridge overlooking one of the smaller water features in the park. She was leaning against the hand rail, glaring down at the water ignoring the people moving across the bridge behind her.

"We don't have to talk about it." she said flatly as I stopped next to her. "I'll apologize to Hannah and we can keep looking for the door."

"You should apologize, but Hannah already found the door."

"She did?" Ryan asked looking up at me in shock.

"Her mother's the queen of the Underworld." I said raising an eyebrow. "Of course she found it."

"Well then what are we waiting for?" she said straightening up quickly. "Where is she? Let's get going."

"We will in a bit," I assured her. "But Hannah still needs some time to recover," I gestured towards the edge of the bridge where Hannah had found a bench. "And I wanted to talk to you anyways."

Her expression darkened and she looked away from me.

"I told you I don't want to talk about it."

"Well that's too bad." I said crossing my arms over my chest and she looked as if she wanted to argue, but thought better of it. "You freaked out. You never freak out."

"So?"

"So this quest is going to be a lot harder than it has to be if two of the three people on it can't be within five feet of each other."

"What do you want me to say Dennis?" she asked stiffly. "She's done nothing but waste our time since we got to the city."

"You've had issues with Hannah long before we left camp." I pressed.

"What does it matter?"

"It matters because we're about to enter the Underworld, and if you think running into monsters in the mortal world is bad, you're in for a rude awakening. You're not going to have the luxury of storming off if you lose your temper again. So why don't you tell me what's bothering you _before_ we're stuck in the land of the dead which, incidentally, is where we're probably going to run into whoever is trying to hurt our family and friends."

She didn't answer at first. She continued to glare at nothing in particular looking moody, but eventually she spoke.

"I can't help it, ok? She annoys me."

"What on Olympus could Hannah possibly have done to annoy you?"

"Because if she spent half as much time she spends feeling sorry for herself and worrying about people's feelings, training in the arena, she wouldn't have to worry about either of those things." She said coldly. "If she stopped relying on you to protect her every time she gets into any sort of trouble, she wouldn't have needed me to kill that scorpion for her. She wouldn't have needed saving."

Anger surged through me, but I tried to keep my head as she continued.

"Besides, what does she even have to feel sorry for herself about? She's pretty, she has friends, everyone who knows her likes her, and the most popular guy in camp has her on a pedestal." She wouldn't look at me, but her expression was dark. "What on earth could she possibly have to be upset about?"

"Maybe the fact that people are always looking down on her and her siblings, just because they have a different sort of power."

She threw me an annoyed look but I didn't feel bad.

"You know, I haven't said much about it because I knew you were having a hard time adjusting to camp, but you've been pretty mean to Hannah. And she's one of the few people that's gone out of her way to be nice to you, even when you didn't really deserve it."

"Why are you trying to make me feel guilty? She's the one who nearly got herself killed."

"It's not Hannah's fault that's she's not a stronger fighter." I said crossing my arms over her chest. "She's trained, probably harder than you have, for years to get where she is but you're forgetting you've got an advantage on her. Most of the camp does. Almost all the gods have some sort of athletic or battle skill, if not then they're at least good with weapons, or have some sort of trait to help them out of danger. But Hannah and her siblings don't and if anyone has the right to be angry, it's her."

"Why?"

"Because Hannah can't change her powers, but just because they're not to your taste doesn't make them any less valuable. You on the other hand, can control how you treat people."

"Well I'm sorry if I hurt her precious little feelings," she said sarcastically. "But maybe if you stopped acting as her human shield, she could learn to stand on her own instead of hiding behind you all the time."

"So you think I should just let Hannah fend for herself?"

"Yeah. It might do her some good."

"How well were you doing on your own?" I asked and she went rigid.

"That's not the same." She muttered darkly.

"Really?"

"I don't need anyone to protect me."

"So Dad didn't help you when you were in trouble then?" I asked her and she flushed.

"That was one time…"

"And you decided to stay at camp when you first got there all on your own, until were ready to face monsters. No one helped you train at all. It wasn't Thea who stopped you from running away."

"What are you trying to say Dennis?" she asked angrily. "That I can't take care of myself?"

"I'm telling you it's not a bad thing to have people looking out for you every once and a while Ryan. And it's not weakness to rely on them sometimes." I said and she looked away. "Despite what everyone thinks from the legends and the stories of ancient heroes, you don't have do everything alone. That's how demigods die. And I'm not going to lose my best friend just because you're too proud to realize that."

She'd gone back to leaning against the hand rail and glowered at a couple that were walking around the lake together.

"I know it's difficult for you to get along with people," I said quietly. "But shutting yourself off completely isn't the answer and taking it out on Hannah won't fix it. If you ask me, the person who is feeling sorry for themselves is you."

I expected Ryan to explode with anger at this, but was surprised when she didn't. Instead she looked down at the water and had the decency to seem ashamed.

"Maybe you're right." She said quietly staring at her reflection. She looked a little confused. "It's just, I've never really had friends before. So I've never been afraid to lose one."

"Steph?" I asked and while she didn't respond she didn't have to. Her expression was answer enough.

"I don't like feeling like this." She said and I was surprised to hear her voice was tight.

"I know what you mean." I muttered.

"No you don't." she said and she sounded angry. "Everything thing comes easy to you, people love you, people are always going to love you. No one likes me." She continued softly and while her expression was bitter, her eyes were sad. "I've always been on my own, even as kid I never had to worry about anyone else so I didn't have to care about anyone else. Of course, the one time I think I might have made a real friend…"

Her voice faded and I was surprised to see tears sliding down her cheeks. One fell and landed in the water below us starting a ripple that spread under the bridge.

I reached out to put my hand on her shoulder, but she pushed it away and wiped her eyes seeming even angrier than before.

"Stop." She said flatly regaining control of her voice. "I don't need you feeling sorry for me."

"It's ok to be upset."

"Being upset isn't going to solve anything."

"You think I don't feel horrible?"

"You're not the one crying like a three-year-old."

"That's because I haven't given up." I said and she looked at me uncertainly. "And you shouldn't either. We'll wake them up, and then Steph can drag your irritating ass to camp activities all summer."

She let out a short laugh to this and while she looked a little less upset, I could tell she was still worried.

"So how did you and Steph end up friends anyways?" I asked watching a family of ducks swim under the bridge. "I thought you didn't want to hang out with her."

Ryan hesitated for a moment, as if she wasn't sure what she wanted to say.

"She's been nice to me." She said eventually. "And, she sort of figured out something about me, something I didn't really want anyone to know. She promised she wouldn't say anything. She even gave me some advice."

"What was it?" I asked curiously but Ryan shook her head.

"It's not a big deal."

"You can tell me."

"Just leave it alone."

"Oh c'mon. It's can't be that terrible. What on earth would you possibly want Steph's help with?"

I was surprised to see she looked embarrassed and I grinned.

"Wait a second." I said realization dawning on me and she winced. "Did she give you relationship advice?"

"Shut up Dennis."

"No way." I said laughing. "You have a crush on someone, don't you?"

"I'm not talking about this with you." she snapped her cheeks burning.

"Oh my gods, you do. It explains why you didn't want that guy's number earlier. You totally have a crush on someone. Who is it? Is it someone at camp?"

"I'm not going to tell you."

"Ok, but if I guess who it is will you tell me?"

"You're not going to figure it out." She said flatly.

"I bet I know." I said smirking. I finally knew why Thea always looked so amused whenever she was meddling in the younger cabin member's business. I had to admit, it was a little fun. "It's Adrian, isn't it?"

"No."

"Are you sure? You spend a lot of time with him. Though Elle has had her eye on him for a while so you might have competition."

"We're just friends."

"You can tell me."

"I don't have a crush on him."

"I dunno." I said suspiciously.

"Again. Friends."

"I'm not going to tell anyone."

"Dennis, I don't have a crush on Adrian." She said looking me dead in the eyes.

"Are you sure? Because you I've seen you with him a lot and-"

"I don't have a crush on Adrian." She repeated flatly. "I have a crush on his sister."

"His sister?" I asked in confusion. "What do you mean his…" but I cut myself off as understanding hit me. "Oh."

"Yeah." She said flatly crossing her arms over her chest and staring over the water away from me. "And if you've got an issue with that-"

"No." I said quickly. "No I don't care."

She looked at me a hesitantly as if she was trying to determine if I was lying.

"Why would you think I had an issue with that?"

"My step dad did." She said flatly and her eyes went dark. "As did my step brother, and my mom after they got to her."

"Oh." I said again not really sure what to say and an awkward silence hung between us.

"Well I don't." I said eventually and she glanced at me again, but her expression was impossible to read. "And none of our siblings are going to care."

She shrugged.

"Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Why does it matter?" she asked frowning.

"I guess it doesn't." I said but before I could stop myself, asked. "Why out of everyone did you tell Steph?"

"I didn't." she said and she sounded irritated now. "It's the stupid Aphrodite powers. She walked by when I was talking to Isabelle the other day and figured it out. Ever since she's kind of been the only person I could talk to about it."

"So that's why you guys are friends now."

"Yeah." She muttered curtly.

"Well, I don't know why you feel like you have to keep it quiet." I said with a shrug. "It's nothing to be ashamed of."

"I'm not ashamed." She said and she looked angry.

"Then what's the issue?"

"I don't have an issue!" She almost shouted and a couple people that had been crossing the bridge looked at us in alarm. "When they find out people have an issue with me!"

I stared at her in surprise, uncertain what to do. She continued to look angry for a moment, then saw my expression and seemed to regret her outburst.

"You want to know why I got picked up by the cops?" she asked glaring at the water again. I didn't answer, but she didn't seem to require one. She continued to speak. "I got caught stealing from the lamest place ever. I'm sure you and the twins, and I guess Thea would laugh at me for it. It'd probably be pretty easy for you stealing from a grocery store, but…" she sighed. "I was upset and I forgot about the security cameras."

"Why were you stealing from a grocery store?" I asked in confusion.

"Step dad kicked me out." She said still not looking at me. "Like I said. Issues."

"What did your mom do?" I asked uncertainly and she let out a dry laugh.

"Not a damn thing."

Not knowing what to do, I put an arm around her shoulders and she made a frustrated noise, but didn't push me away this time.

"Well," I said a little awkwardly. I had no idea what to say. "I don't care and no one in the cabin will. And if anyone at camp bothers you about it, we'll all remind them why you don't mess with our siblings."

"Yeah." She muttered quietly. "Thanks."

Silence fell between us in which we both looked over the water, lost in our own thoughts. Something she'd said earlier had stuck with me, though I wasn't sure if I wanted to talk about it or not.

"You're wrong by the way." I said eventually and she looked up at me, apparently confused. "I do know how you feel."

"How?" she challenged sounding as if she seriously doubted.

"Because believe it or not, I know what it's like to struggle to find friends and to fit in. And I know what it's like to be afraid to lose someone you really care about."

"Yeah, I know. You care about everyone in the infirmary too it's just-"

"Actually, I'm not talking about that." I said and though it was a hot day, I felt my entire body go cold as dark memories resurfaced from the corners of my mind where I thought they'd been buried. "It was a couple of years ago, when I went on my first mission with Thea and Adam. It's something I've never told anybody."

"Not even Thea?"

I shook my head.

"Why not?"

"Because I never wanted to feel that way again. I didn't even want to think about it."

"What happened?"

"It's kind of hard to explain." I said frowning but she was still looking at me so I continued. "Long story short, all three of us, we were put into a sort of trance, and in it, we were forced to see our greatest fears." I felt my shoulder stiffen. Even after all this time it was difficult to think about. "In it I was forced to see a lot of horrible things. My mortal sisters in danger, Thea and my father trapped, unable to escape the Gods that were after us at the time, but the last thing I saw before I was able to force myself out of it was Hannah. She was dead, monsters had gotten to her. I wasn't able to stop them."

I sighed.

"You wouldn't know this, but when I first got to camp our cabin wasn't liked very well. No one outside our cabin really talked to me, or wanted anything to do with me really. Apart from our siblings, Hannah was the only person who even bothered to get to know me. She wasn't just my best friend, she was kind of my only friend and after seeing what I had in that vision, I promised I wasn't ever going to let that happen to her. So I trained really hard. I didn't care what I had to do to get strong enough to kill any monster that we might run into, and I guess that's when they started sending me on missions and people started noticing me around camp, and while I might get a bit carried away with the attention sometimes, the truth is, I don't really care about that stuff no matter what people think. I still have nightmares about what I'd been forced to see. It's why I don't care if I have to look out for her when we run into monsters. I just never want to feel like that again."

I glanced at Ryan who'd gone back to looking out over the park. Her expression was unreadable, but she looked like she was thinking.

"So what if Hannah's not a fighter?" I asked she looked conflicted. "Not everyone in the world has to be. If they were, it would be a terrible place. There wouldn't be anything worth fighting for."

"Well if you she means that much to you, why'd you break up?"

"Why do you care?"

"I don't really." She said frowning. "I guess I'm just trying to understand."

"Well, why do you care about Steph?" I asked. "She's not a fighter, but she doesn't annoy you."

"I dunno." She shrugged. "I guess I never really thought about it. She's just…"

She frowned and her sentence faded, but I understood.

"Here's the thing about our Dad." I said. "He's smart, smarter than most people and he can pretty much talk his way out of anything. But he can be arrogant, and it comes out in his kids."

She gave me an uncertain look, as if she wasn't sure where I was going with this, but let me continue.

"But when you're smarter than everyone. It makes you start to think you know better than everyone else or that you are better than everyone else, and when that happens, well, sometimes it can turn you into a jerk."

Without really meaning to, I thought of some of the things I'd said to Adam when I was angry with him. Even to Thea when we'd been looking for our father and she'd been concerned when we couldn't find Adam.

"I guess I would know about that." Ryan said quietly, not looking at me.

"Yeah. You would." I said simply. "I would too. We all get carried away with our abilities at some point. I've done and said a lot of things I'm not proud of, all because I knew I wouldn't get caught or I was convinced I knew better than everyone else. But eventually we all meet someone who makes us realize we can't do whatever we want just because we can get away with it. A genuinely good person. Someone that can make even people like us think twice about some of the things we do, and make us want to be better people. I've found those are the people our siblings care about the most."

"Thea seems to do whatever she wants." Ryan said stubbornly.

"Thea was a loose cannon instigating chaos whenever she felt like it until she started dating Adam. You've only known her since she's calmed down a bit, but back when I first got to camp a lot of people at wanted her gone. Don't get me wrong," I added quickly. "I love her to death but if she didn't have someone keeping her grounded, she probably would have been vaporized by one of the gods by now, either to stop her causing trouble or because she managed to piss several of them off."

There was another stretch of silence between us, one which she eventually broke.

"And you think Hannah's that person for you?" she asked frowning.

"Yeah."

"That still doesn't explain why you broke up."

"I dunno, if I'm honest it was probably my fault. I was getting more attention at camp and at school, and I probably wasn't the best about it. I might have let it get to my head. Got caught up in it and acted like a jerk."

"Well, maybe you should tell her." She said.

"Tell her what?"

"That she's that person for you."

"Are you going to tell Steph?" I asked raising an eyebrow and she looked at me as if I were insane.

"No. We're friends. That would be totally weird."

"Same problem."

"Do you think if you'd told her before, you wouldn't be just friends now?"

I opened my mouth, but found I had no response.

"It's not like she doesn't know she's important to me." I said evasively. "She's my best friend."

"How's she supposed to know something if you don't tell her?" she asked.

"Why is this so important to you? You don't even like Hannah."

"Maybe not." She said with a shrug. "But you do."

I wasn't exactly sure how to respond to this so I didn't. I didn't know how long we stood on the bridge, but finally, when the sun started to set and people started to leave the park, I heard footsteps behind us.

"Hey."

Ryan and I both turned to see Hannah looking up at us.

"Feeling better?" I asked and she nodded.

"I'm ready to go when you are." She looked at her feet for a second then glanced at Ryan. "I know you're still probably angry with me. I'm sorry I-"

"Just don't do it again." Ryan said cutting her off and then when I raised an eyebrow at her she added. "I'm sorry I yelled at you."

"Well, now that that's out of the way." I said and both girls looked at me. "You two ready to complete the quest?"

They nodded and I looked at Hannah.

"Lead the way."


	16. Chapter 16

wow it's been a while! I'm so so soooooo sorry for how long this has taken, for anyone who was waiting I feel absolutely horrible. If anyone is still reading I hope you like the new chapter and I'll try to keep things rolling at a much faster pace.

~secrethalfblood

Hpov

"You know." Dennis started as we stared at the pile of rocks that wasn't much taller than he was. "For some reason, I thought this would be bigger."

"What did you expect?" I asked him trying not to grin. "A sculpture of Hades with a neon sign saying 'This way to the Underword?' If it was any bigger the Mortals might suspect something."

The sun had sunk behind the sky scrapers of the city and we stood before the Door of Orpheus as the park got darker around us with each passing second. I wasn't sure about the others, but part of me felt a little weird. As if this had been too easy so far. Quests were never this straight forward.

"Well." Ryan said looking at Dennis. "Don't you have to play music or something? What are you waiting for?"

"I'm getting to it jeez." He said annoyed pulling his iPod out of his pocket along with the speaker. "Hasn't anyone told you that patience is a virtue?"

"Yeah. For people who don't know how to get their way." She said flatly. "Hurry up."

He rolled his eyes but connected the speaker and pressed the play button on the screen of his iPod, but nothing happened.

"What the-"

He checked the power button on the speaker and reconnected the devices, but again nothing came out.

"What's wrong?" I asked as he swore.

"It's broken." He said sounding horrified as he turned the speaker over in his hand. He pulled out the battery to see beads of water on it. "It must have gotten wet during the storm earlier."

"Then what do we do?" Ryan asked frowning.

"Can either of you play an instrument?" I asked.

"No." they responded in unison.

"Even if we could, we didn't bring any with us." Dennis continued.

"Maybe we can find a street musician." Ryan suggested. "They're all over the city. How much cash do you have? I'm sure if we pay them they'd…"

I tuned Ryan out as she and Dennis debated the pros and cons of asking a mortal for help to get into the land of the dead. I knew why they were concerned, it might be a little awkward if they followed us through the door, who knows what they might see. But even as they continued to talk, my eyes fell on the door of Orpheus and I felt something strange go over me. It was a dark, cool feeling, but not necessarily a bad one. It was like stepping out into a cold night following a thunderstorm, after a heat wave back home. It reminded me of all the times Dennis and I had snuck out to look at the stars away from the city lights when we were still dating.

I felt goosebumps erupt on my arms and I stepped closer to the pile of rocks not exactly sure why.

Suddenly, there was a loud splintering sound as a crack appeared in the rock pile, and suddenly, some of the larger boulders fell away.

I leapt back in shock, the dark feeling disappearing and I heard Dennis's and Ryan's conversation cut off.

"What was that?" Dennis asked as they ran over. When they reached me, Ryan gave me a suspicious look.

"What did you do?"

"I dunno." I said in astonishment staring at the rock pile. "I just was thinking about the door and…"

I let the sentence hang between us as we all stared at the dark tunnel that sank into the earth. It was extremely dark and cold, a cool breeze drifting from it carrying the smell of damp earth and while I expected to feel a little freaked out, I didn't. Part of me wanted to see what was down there, I'd heard so much about the Underworld in camp, but when I looked over my shoulder I could see this curiosity wasn't shared by the other two.

"Ladies first." Dennis said smirking at his sister who rolled her eyes.

"You're such a baby." She said, but I could tell she was uncomfortable and she didn't step forward. She was eyeing the hole warily.

"I'll go." I said shrugging and grabbing the flashlight out of my bookbag.

"I'm not so sure that's a great idea." Ryan muttered darkly.

"Why? If you're too scared-"

"I am not scared." She said irritated and while I knew I shouldn't have, I couldn't help but feel a little satisfaction in the fact that I'd obviously struck a nerve. Maybe it wasn't very big of me, but it was nice to be the one making her irritated for once. Not the other way around.

"I just don't think the least experienced of the fighters should go first that's all." She said regaining her composure enough to fire back at me.

"I'll be fine."

"I think Ryan's right." Dennis said readying his weapon. "If there's any monsters down there-"

"There aren't." I said certainly.

"What?" he asked confused.

"There aren't any monsters down there." I clarified and Ryan frowned at me.

"How could you possibly know that?"

"It's a door to the mortal world," Dennis agreed. "Monsters will definitely be trying to find it."

"There aren't down there." I said looking at the tunnel then back at him. I didn't know how I knew this, but I was certain that there were no monsters waiting for us in the tunnel.

"Don't you trust me?" I asked.

He looked at me for a moment, then back at the door and seemed to be deciding something to himself. Eventually, he banished his weapon.

"Alright." He said shrugging. "Hannah, if you want to go."

He gestured to the door.

"You've got to be kidding me." Ryan said incredulously but I ignored her.

I walked towards the rock pile and poked my head into the tunnel. Immediately I was overwhelmed with that dark feeling, but again, I was more curious than intimidated and the second I stepped through the door, something strange happened.

The tunnel was suddenly lit by bright torches of green fire that seemed to appear out of nowhere, and the rough stone shaped itself into a perfect staircase, easing our descent.

I smiled.

'This isn't so bad.'

"You guys coming?" I called back down the tunnel and I saw their heads poke out, their skin tinted green from the fire light.

"Weird." Ryan said looking around at the torches. "Is it supposed to look like this?"

"I dunno." Dennis said as they stepped in behind me.

They had to duck as they walked, both of them too tall for the tunnel and I had to bite back another smile. Well, maybe there were some advantages to being short after all.

"Let's go." I said confidently, turning and taking a couple steps forward, but they suddenly let out a cry of shock.

"What?" I asked turning back quickly.

"Nothing." Dennis said looking a little embarrassed and I realized they'd been thrown into semidarkness. The torch next to them had gone out.

"What the hell just happened?" Ryan asked but when I jogged back to them, the torch burned back into life and they both stared at it, then looked back at me.

"What?" I asked but Dennis was giving me a shrewd expression.

"Back up a couple steps Hannah." He said and treading carefully so as not to go tumbling down the stairs, I backed up a few paces, watching in shock as the torch they'd been standing next to went out again.

"That is unsettling." Ryan said, looking up at the empty space where the flames had been with a disturbed expression, but Dennis laughed.

"Guess the tunnel likes you." he said looking at me and I smiled back.

"We should probably get moving." I said and, as if they were waiting for my command, more torches lit up down the tunnel as if directing our course and Ryan stared at me. But it was in a way I didn't recognize.

"You are getting weirder by the second flower power." She said making her way farther down the tunnel. Unlike Dennis, she hadn't put her weapon away.

"After you," Dennis said gesturing for me to walk with him.

"I'm not weird, am I?" I asked starting to walk and Dennis shrugged.

"I'm not sure I'm the best judge of that, I'm your best friend. Odds are if you're strange I am too. Or maybe I'm just used to it."

"Hey, when we met you were the weird one." I reminded him with a slight grin. "But you're not freaked out about this?" I asked pointing at the torches.

"Nope, it's useful. And who knows it could be that it's just how the door works. Maybe it only responds to whoever opens it."

"I guess that makes sense."

"Would you two stop flirting and get a move on?" Ryan shouted from farther down the tunnel. "I need more torches down here!"

"You know if I didn't know any better, I'd think Ryan was afraid of the dark." I said frowning and to my very great surprise, Dennis laughed.

The walk through the tunnel was pretty uneventful.

I didn't know how long we were there, but I mostly talked to Dennis while Ryan walked ahead of us.

"Thank the Gods." He said as we heard the sound of running water.

We stepped out of the tunnel and he stretched, finally able to resume his full height. We'd walked into a dark but massive cavern, with stalactites and a dirty river slogging through it.

"You know." Ryan said frowning as the torches in the tunnel faded and burned out, we'd pulled out our flash lights and she was shining it on the river. "I was expecting something a little more exciting. I thought this river was supposed to be a big deal or something." Her frown increased as it passed over a battered trophy and several broken CD cases. "It's disgusting."

"According to legend, this is where people dump their dreams when they die." Dennis said walking to the bank. "Did you expect that to look pretty?"

He wasn't looking at her as he said this, but at the water. Around us gray fog swirled in the cavern. It was lit by the odd candle here and there, but it was still very dark and in the darkness, I couldn't make out his expression. All I knew was that it bothered me.

"If you even think about jumping in…" I started angrily and he looked back at me with a grin.

"But think about how awesome I would be."

"If you survive," I snapped. "What if you can't get back out?"

"Then you'd have to rescue me."

"I can't swim!"

"Guess it'll have to be you then Ry." He said smirking at her and she raised an eyebrow.

"Don't even joke like that." I said angrily.

"It could make this mission a whole lot simpler."

"What are you two going on about? What happens if he jumps into the river."

"I'll be a bad ass, that's what will happen." He laughed but judging by her frown she didn't seem to understand.

"If you can survive a dip in the River Styx, you can become pretty much invulnerable."

"Then why aren't we all jumping in?" she asked looking at the water quickly.

"Because hundreds of heroes, thousands maybe, have tried it. And only three have survived." I said flatly and she seemed to lose her enthusiasm for the idea.

"And we're not trying for four." I continued glaring at Dennis how rolled his eyes.

"Relax Hannah I wasn't going to jump."

"Then what were you thinking about?"

"I was wondering what's going to turn up when it's my turn to cross." He'd said it casually, as if it were a mildly interesting subject for him but I went cold.

By 'my turn to cross,' he obviously meant when he died. I never wanted to think about Dennis dying, not ever. Even him mentioning it now was making me feel sick.

I was so busy wrestling with this horrible emotion, I didn't even notice the boat that was parting the fog until it was just a few feet from the shore.

I looked with the others as it bumped to a stop, and a man stepped out onto the rocky shore, giving us looks of frank interest.

"You're not dead." He mused. "What are three young demigods such as yourself doing so very far from the world of the living?"

Everything about this man was dark from his stylish Italian suit, to his eyes and his chocolate brown skin. Everything except his hair, which was so blonde, it almost hurt to look at in the gloom of the cavern around us.

"We're on a quest." I explained and he let out a long-suffering sigh.

"Really." He said sounding bored. "A quest you say? When will the oracle stop sending me live people?" he asked irritated scowling up at the ceiling as if he could see her through it. "Stupid Apollo and his favorite seer. Don't they understand that I'm busy enough with these hopeless souls without having to cater to the living as well?"

"We'll make sure to give her that message when we get back." Dennis said grinning slightly. "But we need to cross. All you need is payment right? Do you guys have drachmas?" he asked looking at Ryan and I.

I nodded along with Ryan, my guess was like me, she'd expected to run into Charon and packed some just in case.

"Yes traditionally all you need is money to get across the ferry but…" he looked at us, his dark eyes glittering coldly, and I couldn't help but feel they lingered on me. "You three look rather intact for being on a quest."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Ryan asked but Dennis's smile had faded, and I could tell by the way his eyes were darting around the room, always returning to Charon, that he was preparing for a fight.

"Well, it's just that you all look so cheerful." Charon said sounding quite cheerful himself, but his tone didn't match his eyes which were flashing. "In my experience most demigods that come down here on a quest, well, they're in rough shape. Orpheus himself was driven to desperate measures to save his wife, but I sense no one has died around you three. Well," he smiled slightly. "Not yet."

"Are you trying to be funny?" Dennis asked stiffly reaching for his ax but I caught his hand before he could grab it.

"Death is rarely funny half blood." Charon sneered obviously noticing Dennis's attitude and the lunge for his weapon, and not taking kindly to either. "All I was saying is you three don't seem nearly miserable enough to consider yourselves on a quest. You hardly seem desperate at all."

"What do you want from us?" I asked trying to cut the conversation off before Dennis got too angry and did something without thinking. "If you don't want money how do we pay you to get across?"

His eyes slid on to me. While it was obvious our appearance on the river bank had annoyed him from the start, I couldn't help but feel there was something less than welcoming about the way he looked at me with his dark, fathomless eyes. It was the exact opposite of the feeling I'd had in the tunnel. As strange as it sounded, it almost felt as if the tunnel had wanted me to go underground. With Charon however, it was obvious he did not want me here. Evan more than the other two it seemed like.

"I want you to give up." He said simply.

"What?"

"I want you to be like all the other miserable souls who have boarded my ferry. They all had to give up their hopes, their dreams, everything they wanted to join the land of the dead. I want you to think of something you desperately want, and give up on it. Show me you are truly prepared to pay what it costs to enter the Underworld, and you may pass."

"Something we want?" I asked frowning. "What? Like something we want to happen?"

"Anything. Any hope, aspiration, or dream."

"But why?"

"Because what you want isn't going to help you down here. Dreams do you no good if you're dead. Why do you think so many are scattered on these banks?" He smiled and it was cruel as he gestured to the many scattered objects that surrounded us. Remnants of the hopes of the souls that had crossed the river before us. "The Underworld is no place for hope young lady."

I looked at the other two, uncertain what to make of what he'd just said. They were both frowning, and if there had been any doubt in my mind that they were brother and sister it was immediately quashed. Their expressions were so similar I almost did a double take.

"And it just has to be something we want? Anything we want?" I asked.

He nodded and I thought for a moment.

What did I want? Automatically I glanced at Dennis but I quickly looked away. No. I didn't want to think about that. I wasn't even sure what I wanted from Dennis these days, all I knew was that I would never give him up. I didn't care what Charon said. He could keep me down here for a century and my mind wouldn't change about that.

But still, I had to choose something. If I wasn't willing to give up Dennis, what would I be willing to give up on?

What did I want? I looked over at Ryan who seemed to be thinking very hard. I noticed she was still holding her bow. Suddenly I remembered something, how she'd looked earlier today walking through the city streets. Completely confident and unafraid even though she was a year younger than Dennis and I, and had only had a few weeks of training. She was like so many of the Hermes girls, Thea, their sister Jessica. A born fighter. Something I'd always wanted to be…

I looked down at my hands feeling disappointed, but then reached to my belt, knowing what I had to do.

"Hannah?" Dennis asked frowning. "What are you doing?"

I grabbed dagger Dennis had given me and hesitated for a moment, before walking over to the shore.

"Are you crazy?" Dennis asked his eyes wide and running after me. "We're about to walk into the homeland of monsters. What if you need that?"

"Dennis. I'm never going to be a fighter." I said and he looked conflicted. "We both know that. Maybe Charon's right. Maybe it's time I start focusing on what I am, not what I wish I could be."

I noticed Ryan look in my direction and I could feel Charon's eyes me as well, but I ignored them and smiled at Dennis.

"Besides, we're best friends. You'll always be there to help me, right?"

"Of course, I will." He said sounding shocked.

"So, I don't really need it then."

"But still-" he started but it was too late. I'd already dropped it into the river and as it sank below the polluted surface, Charon stepped aside to let me on the ferry. It was old, and made entirely of wood, but seemed steady as I walked past him.

"Interesting decision." He muttered, but said nothing more and looked at the other two expectantly.

"Well?" he continued. "What will it be demigods? Or is her majesty's daughter braver than the two of you combined?"

'Her majesty?' I thought confused, but then I remembered. Technically, well not even technically, my mother _was_ the Queen of the Underworld. It wasn't just Hades he served…

Dennis looked annoyed about something, and I felt his gaze land on me for a moment.

I smiled.

It was meant to be encouraging but it seemed to backfire because something behind his eyes faltered. He looked at me for one last moment before he pulled out his wallet. He glanced at something small that he took out, what looked like a piece of paper in the gloom of the cave and Ryan looked at him in shock.

"What are you doing?" she asked him her eyes wide.

"Don't worry about it." he muttered walking towards the shore.

She tried to grab his arm but he easily pushed her off.

"Ryan, it's fine." He said shortly before taking a deep breath, and releasing the paper, letting it flutter down into the river and watching it as the water pulled it away.

Dennis didn't look at me as he stepped onto the boat and while I wanted to ask him what he'd given up, I had the feeling he didn't want to talk. I glanced at Ryan only to see she was staring at him, obviously worried and what looked like a little upset.

"Well daughter of Hermes." Charon said looking at Ryan with a patronizing smile. "What are you willing to trade for passage? Or do you think you will turn back?"

She let out a hollow laugh.

"You wish." Ryan said with a return to her usual grouchy disposition. "Move over will you?"

She reached for something around her neck, and took off a necklace I realized I'd seen her wearing before, but never thought much of until now. It caught the light of a candle as she chucked it with what looked like extreme anger, and I saw it was a locket.

"My mom always sucked at giving gifts anyways." She muttered stepping past Charon to join us on the ferry as with a 'plunk' it too sank beneath the water.

"Well then." Charon said adjusting his suit and making his way towards the front of the ferry. "Now that you've all paid, and we've set the _appropriate_ tone for this journey, let us press on shall we?"

I looked at Dennis, fully expecting him to say something snarky to Charon but was surprised when he stood and walked to the other side of the boat, completely ignoring Charon and staring down the river. As if he were looking for something.

"What-" I started going after him but Ryan caught my book bag and kept me in place.

"Leave it." she warned and for once, she wasn't glaring at me. She was looking at Dennis as if she felt sorry for him.

"He looks upset." I said. I could tell by the way that his shoulders were set and he was leaning against the side of the boat that something was on his mind.

"Yeah, and you're the last person he wants to talk to about it." she said obviously trying to keep her voice low so he wouldn't hear. We weren't that far away from him though, so I wasn't sure if the fact that he didn't turn around meant she'd achieved her goal or he was just ignoring us.

"Why wouldn't he want to talk to me? I'm his best friend."

"Yeah." She said quietly not looking away from him. "That's why."

"What do you mean that's why?" I asked indignantly and she sighed, but this time she did look at me.

"Because." She explained looking as if part of her didn't want to. "I saw what he sent down the river."

"What was it?" I asked and for some reason I felt my stomach tighten. Part of me wasn't sure if I wanted to hear what she was about to say, but she said it anyways.

"It was a picture of you."


	17. Chapter 17

Thanks for the reviews!

~secrethalfblood

Dpov

I didn't bother to listen to what the girls were talking about on the ferry ride across the river and after they'd stopped their conversation, it didn't pick back up. No one spoke to Charon as we stepped off the boat, and he seemed to be quite glad to get rid of us as it drifted back into the fog.

It wasn't hard to get passed the gate, that was the advantage of being a child of Hermes, though I did have to practically drag Hannah away from Cerberus when she spotted him.

"But he's so cute." She complained as we snuck away from the front gate, passing the judgement pavilion, ignoring the souls to be judged. She'd always loved big dogs.

"That is about fifty times too big to be cute." Ryan said flatly and then looked at me. "Dennis, do you know where we're going?"

"Hannah does."

Ryan looked at her expectantly.

"We have to head towards the palace. We shouldn't have to enter it." She said looking nervously at a pavilion not to far away where souls were lining up to be judged. "Legend says that only people Hades wants to get into the garden can find it, but that's where I come in handy." She smiled slightly in spite of herself. "I'll be able to find it. If we're lucky we won't run into anybody. We can just get to the garden, get what we need, and get out"

"Yeah." Ryan said with a slightly bitter tone, putting her bow over her shoulder. "Because demigods are known for being lucky."

We started walking. To no one's surprise, the Underworld was very dark. Hundreds of feet above us, I knew would be a stone ceiling that separated us from the mortal world, but I saw nothing but blackness. Everything around us was lit dimly by torches of that same eerie green fire. On the right, past the judgement pavilion, were souls wandering vaguely through the fields of asphodel, to my left were the fields of punishment.

It looked pretty much as I expected it to. Blackened earth and covered in fire, with rivers of lava, and a dull orange glow from both presiding over the many horrific scenes meant to torture the wicked of the world. I could hear people screaming in the distance but tried to block it out, deciding to focus on what was in front of me.

In the distance, we could see Hades' palace. It was massive and black, made of shining obsidian and bronze. It was dark, but also some how beautiful in a way. Although it was far, even from this distance I could see how lavish it was.

"Bet there's some nice stuff in there." Ryan said, obviously noticing the palace too and grinning at me. "I'm sure who ever lives there has got plenty of things they wouldn't even notice they'd been liberated from. Think we have time for a visit?"

"Not unless you want to end up over there." Hannah said quietly, jerking her thumb towards the fields of punishment and I felt a shudder go through me.

Ryan looked at the fields, shrugged, but kept walking.

None of us spoke as we continued, but I saw Hannah looking around with what looked like curiosity. I'd expected her to be a bit more afraid, but she didn't seem to be. Much less than Ryan at any rate, who kept looking over her shoulder and seemed jittery. I felt a twinge of guilt go through me. Had I been expecting Hannah to need my help again? How many times had I told Ryan off for expecting too little of Hannah, but was I the one that was doing it now?

I was distracted from this unpleasant realization when I thought I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I turned quickly but saw nothing, but my battle senses were tingling.

"What?" Hannah, who'd obviously noticed, asked frowning at me.

"Nothing." I said looking around cautiously but again seeing nothing. "I guess this place is just messing with me." I muttered glancing up at the black ceiling above us. Maybe the dark was playing tricks on my eyes.

The path to the palace was obvious, but cut through some rocky terrain that was difficult to maneuver, especially for Hannah who was a lot shorter than Ryan and I.

I'd just helped her over a boulder, when Ryan let out a cough that echoed roughly of the cliffs around us.

"Are you ok?" Hannah asked frowning.

"I'm fine." She said waving her away and continuing down the path. "Let's just keep moving."

We'd been walking for another ten minutes when Ryan stumbled and almost tripped.

"Are you sure you're alright?" I asked giving her a critical look when she put her hands on her knees, bent over to catch her breath. Ryan had been in front of us, and I'd been so busy trying to help Hannah through the rocks, that I hadn't noticed that she was looking a bit tired. She was breathing hard.

"I'm fine." She repeated stubbornly standing back up.

"You sure?" I asked. "Cuz we can take a break if-"

"No breaks." She said shaking her head stubbornly. "We're almost there. We just need to-"

But she coughed again, took an uneasy step, and collapsed.

"Ryan!" Hannah and I shouted running over to her and I helped her sit up.

"I'm fine." She insisted pushing my hand off of her. "I just lost my balance, I-"

But she never finished her sentence, because suddenly, there was a dark hissing noise, and we all looked up to see clawed monsters clambering out from behind the rocks.

"I knew it." I said darkly feeling my eyes narrow. We were being followed.

"Hannah, help Ryan," I said reaching for my ax but Ryan was already on her feet and while she looked unsteady, her bow was not.

"Get between us." She ordered to Hannah, who did not have a weapon, and Hannah immediately complied.

"Leave us alone." I saw darkly to a Gorgon that was slightly ahead of the band. "Or we're going to have to kill you. We don't want any trouble."

She grinned evilly as a basilisk, a Gryphon, and a hag appeared behind her, stepping out of the shadows.

She smiled cruelly.

"I don't think we will. Not when you demigods have come so willingly into our home." She paused and her smile grew even more evil as she spotted Hannah. "You know you should have known better than to come here little girl."

"What?" Hannah asked, obviously confused as to why she had been singled out, but without warning, the Gorgon lunged and was caught in the stomach with an arrow from Ryan's bow. She shrieked and vaporized into yellow dust, but the others had followed her lead and started their attack.

The Gryphon took off and I saw Ryan shoot after it, missing by mere inches, but I was unable to pay any more attention to this because the hag had gone after Hannah.

"Get away from her!" I shouted furiously meeting her talons with my ax and forcing her back.

"Get out of the way!" she snarled slashing at me but I ducked and easily cut her down, but I didn't have time to catch my breath. Several monsters were after Hannah.

"What is going on?" I shouted after the sixth one lunged for her. The monsters couldn't seem to care less about Ryan and I, except for the fact that we were in their way for getting to Hannah. "What do they want with her?"

"I dunno!" Ryan answered pushing Hannah out of the way of a jet of fire. She looked pale as hit a Chimera with her bow, then shot it between the eyes. "But we need to get out of-"

But she let out another cough and dropped her bow.

"Hannah! Don't!" I shouted in horror as Hannah went to grab it, only to find herself standing in front of a massive hell hound that was snarling at her.

It barred it's teeth, letting out an evil growl, then struck it's jaws open wide.

"No!" I yelled desperately, already running but my path was blocked as two furys came swooping down from the darkness. There was a scream of pain, and I felt my heart stop. But the scream hadn't come from from Hannah.

I quickly killed the Furys and looked to see Hannah on the rocky earth, and Ryan being dragged away by the hell hound, unconscious, her bow abandoned.

"Ryan!" I shouted in panic as Hannah pushed herself up, she had tears in her eyes.

"Dennis, I'm sorry." she started. "She pushed me out of the way and-"

But I wasn't listening to a word she was saying. I'd already grabbed her hand and started running.

"Come on!" I said quickly. Most of the monsters were either dead or injured. They were retreating. "We might be able to-"

But Hannah's hand was ripped out of mine as she let out a terrified scream.

I looked up to see a third Fury had dropped out of the sky and grabbed her by the shoulders. She struggled as it dragged her higher and higher in the air, beating at it's talons which had sank into her shirt, but it was no use.

"Hannah!" I shouted desperately running after the Fury and throwing my ax but it was too late. It missed by several feet and the bird was getting farther and farther away.

"No…" I said terrified looking around. I looked for Ryan's bow, but it had been trampled by the retreating monsters and was laying useless five feet away. Ryan was nowhere to be found and in the chaos of Hannah's capture, I'd lost track of where the hell hound had dragged her.

I ran knowing that there was no way I'd be able to keep up, as the Fury flew Hannah, who was still screaming in the direction of the palace. A cold numbness was flooding through me.

This was all my fault.

If I'd trust my instincts, if I hadn't let the monsters sneak up on me, I wouldn't have lost them both. Now Ryan was sick and at the mercy of a blood thirsty monster and Hannah was being taken to the palace where who knew what was in store for her.

I'd failed completely. What was I going to do?

Panic flooded through me. What _could_ I do? I was the leader of this mission and I was the only one left. I'd lost my weapon running after Hannah, Ryan's bow was broken and I didn't even know where she was or if she was even alright. Even if the hell hound hadn't decided to kill her, she didn't have much time. Not if the others were any indication.

Terror started to over take me. My heart was pounding and fear was clouding in my mind as I thought not just of Hannah and Ryan, but all the people who were depending on me. All the people who would never wake up if we didn't make it back from this mission. If we didn't succeed. But I'd already failed. Laney, Chiron, the twins, Stephanie, Thea…

'Thea.' I thought desperately. 'What would Thea do in this situation?'

'Nothing.' A bitter voice said in the back of my mind. 'Thea would have never let this happen, she'd never be in this situation. Unlike you she thinks things through. She'd have had a plan. Tricked Hades into letting you guys walk through or something.'

Hades…

I felt a shudder go through me, but I ignored it, knowing at this point he was my only chance. I'd hoped we'd have been able to go through his realm without having to talk to the God, but it looked as if that wouldn't be possible now. I needed help.

I started running as fast as I could after the Fury towards the palace. I didn't know what I had to offer the King of the Underworld. I was down two team members, weaponless, and in an unfamiliar territory filled with monsters but I was determined to try. I couldn't give up now. I had to save them.

I was going to have to make a deal.


	18. Chapter 18

Sorry it's been so long! I've been crazy busy and haven't had time to write. Hope you like the new chapter!

~secrethalfblood

Hpov

I never thought I'd be in a cell. I always read about them in books during someone's fantastic adventure, and it always describe it as some dank, cold, horrible place. Well, having been in one for about an hour now, I can indeed confirm, it is a dank, cold, horrible place.

I looked around the dark stone walls feeling sick to my stomach and colder than I'd been in my entire life. The light was dim and I couldn't see much, but if I could, I was certain I'd have been able to see my breath.

The guards had taken my book bag when they'd shoved me in here, none of them saying a word to me. The only light was coming from far down the corridor, at the entrance to the dungeon and so far, I'd been left alone. No one had come to check on me, or feed me, and as my stomach growled, it echoed off the stone walls of the chamber, filling the silence for just a moment.

I was laying on the damp floor for the next forty minutes or so, when I heard a door open.

"Get off of me!" Someone shouted and I sat up. I knew that voice.

"Get in here." A gruff voice said and I crawled over to the bronze bars of my cell to see two guards, skeletons both of them, dragging a figure that was kicking and struggling between them.

"Back you!" one of them shouted and I retreated to the edge of my cell as a familiar blonde figure was tossed in with me.

"Ryan?" I asked in utter shock as the cell door slammed shut and the skeletons made their way back towards the dungeon doors. "You're ok?"

"Depends on how you define it." she said her voice tight with pain as she sat up and clutched her arm to her chest. "But I'm alive, yeah."

I glanced at her. In what little I could see in the darkness, she looked pretty rough. Her clothes were ripped and bloody. She was very pale, and her hair was crusted with dried blood. There was a bruise on her jaw, and her arm that she was cradling had several deep cuts from where the hell hound had grabbed her. None of the injuries looked life threatening though.

"Where are we?" she asked looking around.

"At the palace." I said quietly. "In the dungeons. Didn't you see it when you got here?"

"I have no idea where that stupid mutt took me." She said sourly. "The thing knocked me unconscious and the next thing I knew, I had skeletons poking me with spears and they locked me up with you. Where's Dennis?"

There was an awkward silence.

"I don't know." I admitted feeling horrible. "I was captured not long after the hell hound dragged you off."

"But he's alive though?" she asked quickly. "The monsters didn't get him?"

"I think so." I said my stomach contracting with fear at the thought of Dennis being mortally wounded in the fight. "They were running away by the time the fury grabbed me."

"Good." She said and then sighed as she leaned against the cell wall opposite me. "He'll find a way to get us out."

"You mean you can't get the lock?" I asked and in the gloom I saw her shake her head.

"No." She muttered glaring at the bronze bars that sealed us away from the rest of the palace. "I can't sense the lock. Those door must be enchanted. I'd have to pick it by hand. My powers aren't going to work."

Another silenced passed between us as she closed her eyes still looking sick. I stared at her.

"Why did you do it?" I asked eventually pulling my knees to my chest as I considered her. She was leaning against the wall and looked exhausted, but she didn't seem to be nearly as bad as the others when their symptoms had started.

"Huh?"

"Why did you push me out of the way of the hell hound?"

"Oh gods." She muttered opening her eyes but not looking at me. "I don't want to talk about this."

"Why'd you let it get you instead of me?"

"Can't you just let it go?"

"No!"

"Why?" she asked annoyed. "Why do you always have to talk about everything?"

"Because it makes no sense."

"Well it was obvious those things were after you…"

"So?"

"So I wasn't just going to give them what they wanted. Not without a fight. They attacked us!"

"But-"

"Why can't you just be happy I didn't let it kill you?" she groaned. "I did a nice thing. Isn't that what you and Dennis want from me?"

"But why?" I asked again feeling my eyes narrow. "You hate me."

She sighed and seemed to think to herself for a while before she eventually looked at me.

"I don't hate you Hannah." She said and while she was trying to look irritated, she didn't quite manage it and I felt a jolt of shock go through me.

"You don't?" I asked in amazement.

"No."

"Then why are you-"

"I don't hate _you_." she said emphasizing the last word. "I just hate what you do to my brother."

I opened my mouth to ask what she meant, but she let out a fit of violent coughs and I felt my stomach shrink.

"Are you alright?" I asked and as she groaned, clutching her stomach.

"Do I sound alright?"

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Yeah, break us out of here and finish this damn mission before I fall asleep like the others." She said sarcastically. "What do you expect me to say to that Hannah? What could you possibly do to help? We're both stuck here."

I didn't answer this mainly because I didn't know how to. She was right of course, even if I didn't want to admit it. We were in a terrible situation and there was not a thing either one of us could do about it. For her it was even worse. She was running out of time. I didn't know how long she had before she was like the others.

I pulled my knees closer to myself miserably. Not a day into my first mission and I'd been captured. Ryan was sick and probably close to falling unconscious, and I'd been almost useless. What was I doing here? I was cold, I was hungry, and I just wanted to go home. But now I was stuck lord knows how far underground with no plants or life around me. Everything was dead there was nothing for me to work with here, and even if there was, hadn't Ryan been right about me all along? What good were flower powers if I couldn't fight for myself? I'd always relied on Dennis to save me, but now what was I going to do? Dennis wasn't here.

I felt cold at this thought, but didn't know what I could do about it. There was nothing I could do.

Neither of us spoke for a while, and I was left alone with my dark thoughts and feelings of inadequacy.

About an hour later, the door opened again and I looked up to see shadows moving our direction. Two guards were talking, their voices low. As if they didn't want us to hear them.

Immediately, I pretended to be asleep, hoping to get any sort of information.

"I dunno why his majesty is so worried. A child of Hermes, and one from her ladyship, their powers are useless down here. The stygian sleep's already affected the blonde. It's only a matter of time."

"I dunno. I think he's right to be worried about her. Why do you think the Hermes brat made it this long? She's powerful."

I opened my eyes slightly to see Ryan's eyes were open too, her face shielded from the guards by her arm. Her eyes met mine and she looked confused as I felt.

"What could she possibly do?" the second guard asked as they moved closer.

"Dunno. But I hope he sends her home before the queen comes back. She won't be happy if she comes home and sees one of her own here."

I heard them stop outside the cell door, and suddenly, there was a loud 'CLANG' as one of the guard knocked his spear against the bars that caused both Ryan and I to jump.

"Wake up halfbloods." A sneering voice said and we sat up to see the guards leering in at us.

"Dinner time." He said handing Ryan a piece of what looked like very stale bread and a lump of cheese through the bars.

I waited, but nothing happened.

"What about me?" I asked.

"What about you?" the second guard asked nastily swiveling his skull unnaturally far around to look at me.

"I have to eat."

"Why?" the first one asked in a high, mocking tone.

"I can't not eat!" I said indignantly.

"Why not?"

"I'll die."

"Well," the guard continued in that same annoying voice. "Perhaps you should have thought of that before you entered the land of the dead."

He laughed but the second one continued to stare at me.

"Children of Persephone get no food in his majesty's realm." He said coldly. And with that he banged his spear on the cell door again, and the guards started to walk away, laughing nastily.

Dpov

It didn't take long to get to the palace, not with my father's speed. While I'd been going over plans of how I wanted to break in and what I'd do if I had to fight my way to Hades, I was surprised to find that the front gate suspiciously unguarded when I reached it.

"What the-" I said uncertainly. Looking around for sentries or guards that were posted for security, but there was nothing.

I stepped in the palace, feeling unnerved. It was a very fine place with many expensive decorations and priceless jewels that I would have loved to get my hands on if I wasn't so worried. Everything about it was dark, from the obsidian to the architecture, and as I walked, the air around me felt cold and heavy.

I made my way quickly and silently through the first chamber, wondering why I wasn't being attacked, but continued to where I thought the throne room must be.

It didn't take long to find. Like the rest of the palace it was dark and glittering, with fantastic jewels and riches dotting the room. At it's far end were two thrones. The smaller of the two was one that Hannah would like. It was made of bright flowers interwoven with each other and was obviously created for her mother. It gave off a feeling of bright energy and spring time that reminded me of the feeling I'd gotten when I'd first met Hannah in Greek lessons at camp. The second, larger throne however, was far more intimidating. It was dark and decorated with what looked like real skulls, and cold power seemed to radiate from it. So much that it seemed to vibrate the air and made me shiver.

Like the rest of the palace, the room seemed empty. I looked around a little cautiously, wondering why the place seemed abandoned. I walked over to the Hades throne, wondering what I was supposed to do. Surely, he must have known I was here. I hadn't bothered to hide my presence and this was his realm.

Maybe I needed to do something to get his attention. What would be enough?

I continued to look at the throne.

Sitting in it would certainly get his attention, but would that be too extreme? I knew Hades had a temper, all the gods did, but the question was. Would it get his attention, or just piss him off and cause him to squash me like a bug?

I continued to contemplate the throne for a few minutes, but eventually i knew i'd have to make a decision. I couldn't stand here all day.

I reached out my hand, and just as I was about to touch the throne, black flames sprouted up in the room around me. I turned in horror looking for a way out but as soon as they had appeared, they vanished, and a man was sitting before me.

"Touch my throne demigod, and you can join my kingdom." He snapped his fingers and around me, guards, obviously soldiers from all eras, appeared in the room, different generations of weapons ranging from spears to machine guns all pointed at me. His dark eyes met mine, and they seemed to flash as he spoke next. "If I were you, I'd think very carefully about my next move."

I backed away from the throne quickly, feeling for the first time in a long time, a bit wrong footed. I was used to being the one sneaking up on people. Not the other way around.

My heart rate increased as the god tilted his head slightly, as if he wasn't sure what to make of me. Like his eyes, his hair was dark black and he was pale, but this suited him. He was handsome, in a dark sort of way, and was as intimidating as the dark power that radiated from him. I repressed a shudder.

"So Dennis." He said looking at me with what seemed like mild interest. "I can only imagine how desperate you must be if you've come to me."

"What makes you think I'm desperate?" I asked trying to keep my voice calm. I couldn't let him know how dire my situation was. Otherwise, I'd have no leverage when striking a bargain. He'd have all the power.

"Because you came to me boy." He said with a cruel smile. "Only the truly desperate do that."

I repressed another shudder as his gaze fell on me and kept an eye on his soldiers who seemed to be getting restless, shifting by the walls around the throne room.

"So." He said sitting back on his throne and giving me a shrewd look. "What is it you want from me boy?"

"I need help finding someone. Two people." I said and he raised an eyebrow.

"Lost them have you? You must be rather careless." He said with a dark amusement. "To lose one companion is unlucky. To lose two, well, it calls your competency into question doesn't it?"

"We were attacked." I said angrily while feeling my stomach shrink. He was saying exactly what I was feeling. I didn't like it.

"I know you were." He said casually. "It was I who sent the monsters after you."

"What?" I asked feeling shock go through me, but it quickly turned to anger. "Why?"

At this he looked at me annoyed.

"You insulted me boy."

"Insulted? What do you mean?"

"Your friend." He said darkly. "The daughter my wife has. _Without_ me."

I looked at him for a moment, feeling realization and dread settle within me.

"Hannah." I said softly and his eyes flashed.

"Yes." He said his voice soft and dangerous. "While I tolerate her existence in the mortal world out of respect for my wife, you can't expect me to ignore her presence in my realm. Especially without my permission. You should have known better. She should have. Her very existence is an insult to my marriage."

"You have kids outside your marriage!" I said indignantly without thinking, and anger flashed across his features, but he remained calm.

The same could not be said for me.

"What did you do to her?" I asked feeling my pulse race and my hands ball into fists. Both my body and my voice was shaking as I glared at the god.

"Nothing that can't be undone." He said delicately and I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding as relief flooded through me. "As of right now she remains unharmed. She's in the dungeon along with your unfortunate sister. You on the other hand, are very fortunate you know," his eyes glittered dangerously and I felt my stomach clench. "If you were not who you are, their fate might have been much less…" he paused for a moment obviously trying to decide what he wanted to say. "pleasant. Though you crossed into my domain without my permission, _and_ you brought your illegitimate friend, I am feeling generous today. And you happen to be just the person I need for a little _favor_."

He smiled slightly at the word but I wasn't sure I trusted it.

"A favor?" I asked feeling my eyes narrow. "What do you mean?"

"I know why you're here Son of Hermes," he continued persuasively. "And I think I'd be willing to make you a deal."

"You are?" I asked my heart leaping.

"Yes. You my poor boy are in a race against time, one you're losing by the way." He said as if he couldn't quite manage himself to bring himself to care about this. "But I can help you."

"How?"

"How?" he asked with a dry laugh. "Have you forgotten who I am? Your friends and your family are all suffering from the effects of Stygian sleep. I'm the King of the Underworld. Do you really think I can't wake them?"

I felt a shock go through me his smile grew. Obviously, he knew he'd gotten my attention.

"You can wake them up?" I asked softly.

"Yes." He said easily. "I can. In fact, I'd be willing to give you your friend back _and_ cure your still conscious sister and send you on your way, but you'd have to do something for me first."

I hesitated, trying to read his expression to see if there was any deceit in his eyes, but they were dark and emotionless. I almost always knew when I was being lied to, but I had no idea what he was thinking.

"What would I have to do?" I asked cautiously.

"Nothing too strenuous for a talented hero such as yourself." He said his voice light but something about his eyes made me uneasy.

I didn't know much about Hades. The legends around him were confusing. Some said he stole his wife, others say she chose to run away. Movies depicted him as a villain, while many accounts showed him as a man who was just doing his job, one that he didn't even like but knew no one else would do. I had no reason not to trust him, but he was a God. They weren't exactly known for being very fair to demigods and right now, he had all the leverage. Every instinct I had was telling me to get out of here. Just to cut and run. But I couldn't. I'd come here to make a deal, and it was a deal he was offering. I needed his help.

"The way I see it. You'd actually be getting the better end of the bargain. Your siblings, your friends, you'd get them all back, and all you'd have to do is bring me one person. After that," he shrugged carelessly. "You'd be free to go."

"What do you mean bring you someone?" I asked hesitantly.

"I mean convince them to come to the Underworld and bring them to me. At which point I'd be willing to give you your friend back, cure your ailing sister, and wake up all those unfortunate people at Camp Halfblood."

"And what will happen to them if I do?" I asked uncertainly and he smiled. It still wasn't nice smile though, it was cool and calculated, as was everything he did, and I felt a chill go through me.

"Is that really what you want to concern yourself with right now? What matters to you is I am the only person who can help you. Who'd be willing to help you. I'm the only way you can be certain you'll save the people you love."

"I'm not agreeing to anything until you tell me who you want." I said looking up at him.

"That's fair." He said though I could tell he'd hoped he could avoid this, at least until after I'd agreed. "But before I tell you, I'd like to remind you how many lives are at stake here. All people you care about."

"Who is it?" I asked darkly and he gave me an appraising look.

He paused for a moment, obviously wondering how I would react to what he was about to say, but eventually he spoke.

"Bring me the son of Zeus." He said sitting back in his chair and I felt blank shock run through me.

"You want Adam?" I asked and he nodded. "Why?"

"Think of it as a settle to score between brothers." He said his voice hardening. "It wasn't so long ago, well, it might seem long to you, that my brother's actions caused me to lose someone I loved. He was hoping to kill my children, but he failed. Instead he killed their mother, a woman unlike any other I'd met." I watched, stunned to see sadness enter his dark eyes. "But he loves his son dearly, and this was an injustice that was never answered for."

"So you plan to kill Adam?" I asked in horror.

"My brother's son has managed to anger many people in his life time." He said casually and I thought of all the gods who didn't like Adam. Apollo, Artemis, Deimos, and Phobos, Eris, and olympus knows how many others he might have managed to anger. "There are those who would love to get their hands on him without my brother knowing. But my plans for the boy don't concern you. It is the fate of your friends and your family that you should be worried about now."

He raised his hand and black fire sprang between us, as tall as I was. In the flames were images of the infirmary in the Big House. Where all the people I loved and cared about were, unconscious, unable to be revived. I saw Chiron, my teacher, Steph and Laney, my friends, the twins and Thea, my siblings if I didn't do something now, they might never wake up. This might be my only chance.

"It would be easy for you to convince him." He said lightly, his words seemed to move around the fire and fill me as I continued to watch the faces in the flames. "Your family has always had the gift of persuasion. In fact, you might not even have to convince him. We both know he'd do _anything_ for her."

The image flickered showing Thea in the flames, smiling at me in her usual trouble making manner. She looked younger and I realized it was her from the first summer I'd met her. Before she'd started dating Adam and we spent so much time together.

"If you think about it." he said quietly. "It might actually be doing him a kindness. From what I understand he was rather distraught when he found her. The poor boy." He said with what sounded like sympathy, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I'm sure he wouldn't want to live without her," he continued his tone carefully controlled. "At least this way he could be saving the one he loves…"

I continued to look at the fire, scenes of my first summer at camp were playing within the flames. Thea helping me pick my first few locks, laughing as we walked to meals together, running from Chiron when we he caught us tossing firecrackers into the other cabins on our last night. We never got to do that stuff anymore. She never had time and she was leaving camp. After she married Adam, she wasn't coming back…

Of course, if we couldn't wake her up, that wouldn't matter at all. Already everything had gone so wrong. I'd lost Hannah and Ryan, Ryan was getting sick, and after all of that, we weren't even sure the rose was going to work. But if Hades himself was offering to wake them up, that was certain.

"And all I would have to do, is bring you Adam?" I asked uncertainly, not taking my eyes off the flames.

"That's all."

"And you'll wake them up? All of them?"

"You give me the son of Zeus," he said his eyes glittering. "And I can wake up everyone you love."

I looked at him.

'What are you doing?' a voice in the back of my mind started furiously. 'If Thea saw you right now, she'd kill you.'

'At least she'd have the chance.' I thought back bitterly. 'Besides, she doesn't have to know.'

'Thea wouldn't want this. Hannah wouldn't want it either. Neither of them would want their lives traded.'

But it wasn't just their lives. It was several people lives. I thought of Stephanie, the twins, Laney, and Ryan. All of them were in danger. I could save all of them, and all I had to do was bring Adam.

'There's no guarantee anything bad is going to happen to him.' I thought but even in my own head the words were hollow.

Even as I thought this however, I knew my mind was made up.

I thought of my friends, my family, and my life before Adam had become a part of it. When he was just the camp hero. Some random person that was thrown into danger from time to time, someone that would be missed, but no one would be surprised if he ended up in a situation like this. This was his job wasn't it? Being a hero? Even if he had said he'd wanted out with Thea, who was he to make that decision?

Anger surged through me. He was the son of Zeus. How could he think he could just get out of this no strings attached? That he could take my sister with him? He didn't get to leave just like that. None of us did. And if he loved her as much as he said he did, well then, he had the chance to prove it.

Without meaning to, I looked back at the flames where my family and friends were all waking up. I was surrounded by them, laughing. Hannah was with me as well as Ryan. Chiron was back to his duties, and I was back at the camp, the hero everyone kept saying I was. That I was supposed to be. Doing the job that should have been his, that he was running away from.

Well, if he wanted to run he could. But I wasn't going to lose my family and my friends while I could save them.

"I'll do it." I said my voice soft but determined as I looked up at the god.

"Excellent." He said smiling.

The flames rose higher and I watched as a shape started to form within them. A dark archway that looked as if it were made out of pure shadow. It was obviously a door out of the Underworld.

I made to step towards it, but hesitated. Was I doing the right thing?

"Whenever you are ready." Hades said pleasantly. "But if I were you, I'd hurry. You don't have much time."

I glanced at him one last time before taking a deep breath and stepped through the arch.

It was like walking through a sheet of ice water. Instantly the air in my lungs froze, and as the darkness consumed me, I found I couldn't breathe. There was a rushing sound and as what felt like time itself rushed passed me as I was transported through shadows. Wind whipped around me, loud and violent. I'd never been so cold in my life, it went thorugh me straight to my core.

Just as I thought I couldn't take it anymore and I would surely freeze to death, the rushing stop and I toppled out of the darkness. I stumbled and landed on my hands and knees in grass, gasping for air. Shivering, I looked around to see I was surrounded by trees, but something about them were familiar.

I quickly got to my feet as I realized I was in the woods back at camp. As my senses came back to me, I realized it was dark here too. Above me stars glittered between the leaves as they were caught by a summer breeze. Appreciating the warmth, I started to walk.

I had no idea what time it was, but the fact that it was night was helpful. It would be better not to be seen. Hopefully I could get to Adam without anyone knowing.

My stomach clenched with guilt but I pushed it down. I didn't have a choice.

I started to run, making sure to stay utterly silent.

I was lucky not to run into any monsters, and as I stepped through the tree line of the woods, I made my way towards the cabin.

It wasn't hard to break into Cabin 1, but when I reached his room, Adam wasn't there.

"What the-" I started looking around the room.

Unsurprisingly for Adam, the room was freakishly neat. Unlike my room back in the Hermes cabin, everything was either hung up or put in its place, with the organization of what looked like a professional.

There was only one thing that looked a little haphazard. Around his mirror were pictures taped along the glass, along the frame, and on the wall behind it. With another pang of guilt, I realized they were pictures of Adam and his friends, and of course, Thea. She was in the majority of them but my guilt quickly turned into resolve. I was doing this for her. She was my sister, and family came first. She was the one who taught me, you left no one behind. And I wasn't leaving Laney, Hannah, or Steph either.

"Where are you?" I asked glaring at Adam in a photo with his best friend Kyle, but as I continued to look at the wall, to see how many pictures Thea was in, I had a feeling I knew.

It took less than five minutes to get to the Big House. Sneaking around the head councilors was far from difficult, and when I stepped into the infirmary, I found Adam exactly where I expected.

Half of him leaning against her bed, the other half in a chair next to it, his hand in hers. It looked extremely uncomfortable, but I had a feeling this wasn't his first night here.

I stood there for a moment, looking at the couple.

Did I really want to do this?

No one would know I was here. I could leave now, try and find Hannah and Ryan on my own and hope Hades didn't kill me for going back on our deal.

The decision was made for me however.

While retired from missions, Adam's battle senses hadn't completely abandoned him apparently because the second I took a step towards the bed, his eyes flew open and he was on his feet, sword drawn.

The room lit up with the shocks of electricity running down the blade, but they quickly vanished as his expression shifted from one of anger to surprise.

"Dennis?" he said sounding completely stunned. "What are you doing here? Where's Ryan and Hannah?"

I hesitated for the slightest of seconds. It was now or never.

"I need your help."


	19. Chapter 19

I know it's been a while. I had some health issues and then got so far off writing track that it got hard to get back on again. Still facing a major case of writers block but this is the next chapter for those still reading if there are any. Hope you enjoy!

~Secreathalfblood

Hpov

Ryan fell asleep pretty quickly after the guards left. I wasn't worried. She didn't look nearly as bad as the others did when they'd fainted and I was pretty sure she'd wake up.

I'd been trying to fall asleep for the last hour but I couldn't. I was cold and frustrated and too much was going on in my mind for it to turn off.

Where was Dennis? Was he alright? And if he was, were we going to be alright?

I looked at the bars knowing there was nothing I could do. I guess I would just have to wait and hope for something to happen.

'Story of my life.' I thought bitterly. I was always waiting on other people. Letting others do things for me because I was too weak to do them on my own. I felt my hands ball into fists and tears burn into my eyes as I looked at them.

Why was I so useless? Why couldn't I ever do anything right? Why couldn't I for once be the one who saved the day?

I glared at the bars furiously. There had to be something I could do. I closed my eyes and tried to sense around for anything. Ivy climbing the palace walls, weeds crowing in cracks in the stone of the dungeon, but there was nothing. The only thing that was coming to me was a mental picture of the bars that kept me confined. Anger shot through me again. Why couldn't I do anything? Why couldn't I think of a way out? If Dennis were here he would have gotten us out hours ago. Pick pocketed the guards for the key when they came through or something. I needed to think.

But as I continued to think, all I could picture was the stupid bars again. I thought I could feel them vibrating. As if the metal could feel my anger and was responding to it. The vibrating got stronger, and I looked over at Ryan to see if she could feel it too. But her eyes were closed and she was breathing slow.

Suddenly her eyes opened and she sat up.

"The lock, it's moving." She said glancing at it and getting to her feet.

"What?" I asked but she frowned.

"It stopped." She said looking a little disappointed and moving back to her corner of the cell. "I thought Dennis might have found us but I guess not."

"How could it be moving?" I asked. "It's enchanted, your powers shouldn't work on it."

"That didn't feel like Hermes power." She said shaking her head. "It wasn't like someone was charming the lock. It was like something was moving the metal inside of it."

"The metal?" I asked confused. "How is that possible?"

"I don't know." She said frowning and sitting back down, but suddenly, the dungeon door opened and we both flung ourselves to the floor as two guards entered the room, pretending to be asleep.

We heard them test the door a few times, and there was an irritated grunt as one of the guards banged his spear against it.

"Should have known it was nothing. It seems fine to me." One of them said and the other replied.

"I dunno, something weird was going on. Didn't you feel it? It was like she was back."

"She can't come back." The first one replied, though he sounded uneasy. "It's still Summer."

"Then how do you explain it?"

"Dunno, but whatever it was, it's gone now."

They turned to walk away, and I was surprised, and a little terrified to see that Ryan had sat up.

"What are you doing?" I hissed but she'd crawled to the edge of the bars and shouted.

"Hey! Dead guys!"

"Ryan!" I whispered terrified, but she ignored me as the troops came running towards us.

"Get back prisoner." The one on the right shouted banging his spear against the bars.

Ryan, who was standing now, leaned against the bars for support and didn't back down.

"Persephone is like, your queen, right? Of the dead and all things dark and creepy and underground."

"Yes." The one on the left said stiffly. "Her ladyship is queen of the Underworld on account of her marriage to Lord Hades."

"That's all I wanted to know." She said and they continued to look at her for a moment, then walked away muttering to each other.

"What was that about?" I asked Ryan as she sat back down looking at the bars.

She was frowning, looking as if she were thinking quickly.

"You find metal underground." She said looking at me.

"So?"

"So, your mother is the Queen of the Underworld.

"But what does that have to do with anything?" I asked and at this she looked annoyed.

"Put the two together Hannah. I'll bet she can control metal."

I frowned.

"Even if she could, what good does that do us? She's not here remember. If you think she'd be able to get us out-"

"She might not be here." Ryan agreed. "But you are."

I looked at her for a moment.

"What, you think I can get us out?" I asked her incredulously and she motioned for me to keep my voice down. I continued in a whisper. "Are you insane?"

"It makes sense."

"I don't have power over metal. None of my siblings do."

"Have you ever tried?" she asked and I hesitated looking at the bars.

"Well, no." I said honestly. My cabin had always focused on my mother's abilities that worked above ground. We sort of looked over her association with the Underworld in favor of her original powers. "But don't you think if we could, someone would have figured it out by now?"

"What if you're the first one to try?" she asked quietly.

Her eyes were darker than usual, and I wasn't sure if it was the stygian sleep or the dim light of the cell causing it, but something about the look she gave me made me wonder if she had a point.

I glanced back at the cell door thinking about what I'd felt earlier. I'd thought the doors were reacting to my anger. I thought I could feel them moving. Was that more than just my imagination? Were they reacting to my anger after?

"I know I felt the lock moving." She said and I turned to look at her again. "Something was acting on it. It wasn't me and we know it sure as Hades wasn't the guards. They were talking about it too." She gave me a significant look. "Who does that leave?"

"You really think this will work?" I asked uncertainly and she shrugged.

"Honestly? No. But it's worth a shot, isn't it?"

"Yeah I guess." I said turning towards the bars wondering what I was supposed to do.

I thought of how I manipulate plants. Touch was an important part of the process. I had to connect with them, feel their life energy. I wrapped my hands around the bars and tried to feel something in them, some sort of life, anything. I closed my eyes trying to concentrate. There had to be something here, some sort of energy to latch on to, to manipulate. But after several seconds I couldn't feel anything.

"Well?" Ryan asked and I opened my eyes.

"Nothing." I said disappointed and letting out a sigh.

She looked disappointed too, but just as I was about to let go of the cell door, I felt something wash over me. A cool, dark energy that my logic told me I should fear, but I didn't. It reminded me of the feeling I'd had when we'd first entered the door to the Underworld. I wasn't afraid, I was intrigued.

Beneath my fingers, I felt the bars start to vibrate.

"Wait," I said my eyes going wide. "Something's happening."

There was a deep humming noise and I felt the bars grow hot to the touch. I let them go in surprise only to find that they were glowing a rich bronze color.

"Get down!" I said instinctively, pushing Ryan to the floor and covering my head with my arms.

There was a horrible screeching noise as I sensed rather than saw the metal twisting, then there was a series of 'clangs' as the bolts shot out of the cell door and it crashed into the corridor of the dungeon.

I glanced up at Ryan who appeared to be as shocked as I was.

"What just happened?" I asked pushing myself up and staring at the hole in the cell that was once the door.

She didn't have time to answer however, because there was the sound of running footsteps.

"What's going on in there?" a guard shouted and we looked at each other.

"Crap!" I said in horror, how were we going to cover this up?

But Ryan was already on her feet.

"Nice work Hannah." She said grabbing a bar of metal that had dislodged itself from the cell door. "Now it's my turn."

I heard a door slam as I got to my feet, and several guards trooped into the corridor weapons at the ready.

"Are you sure you're up for this?" I asked her quietly. She was pale and the shadows under her eyes were darker than ever.

"Oh please." Ryan said staggering slightly as she took her stance, obviously preparing for a fight. "They don't even have ligaments."

"GET THEM!" a voice shouted and the guards charged towards the cell, but suddenly, Ryan disappeared.

"Missed me." She said with a laugh and smacking the first skeleton in the ribs with the twisted metal. It collapsed into a pile of bones that stirred feebly, obviously trying to reform.

She ducked a jab from a spear and easily disarmed another guard. Using the new weapon, she took several out at the knees with one broad sweep.

She laughed again and as she did, I was strangely reminded of Dennis and Thea as she continued to fight, faster than all of them, and three steps ahead.

Soon there was only one skeleton left intact. She'd managed to steal a sword and was battling it when suddenly, just as she drove the sword through the skull of the final guard trapping him to the wall, the first guard managed to reform right behind her.

It grabbed the nearest weapon, a club resting on the floor and ran towards her. She turned and her eyes went wide. Without thinking, I grabbed the bar she'd abandoned for the better weapons and swung it.

The bronze connected with the guard's skull with a sickening 'crack'. It shot off the skeleton's shoulders and went bouncing down the hall of the dungeon, like some twisted version of a kick ball.

We both watched it for a moment, then looked at each other.

"Th-thanks." Ryan said panting and lowering her weapon.

"No problem." I said stunned glancing down at the bar in my hands. I'd never beaten an opponent before, not even in the arena.

We stared at each other for a moment, when a rolling femur brought us back to the reality of our situation.

"We should get out of here." She said quietly and I nodded.

We ran towards the dungeon door which was still unlocked from when the guards had rushed in, and hurtled up the stairs that lead towards the main part of the palace.

"Well," I said as we tumbled into a massive hall way with bronze walls. It was lined with glittering jewels and a lavish black carpet that my feet sunk into as we stepped on to it. "Which way do you think we should go?"

"I dunno." She said putting her hands on her knees trying to catch her breath. "But we need to get out of here and find Dennis. Does your cabin know anything about the palace?"

I was about to answer that I knew nothing about Hades palace, when there was a low growling that caused us both to freeze.

Her eyes met mine and we turned, slowly, to see a massive hell hound behind us. Drool dripping form it's fangs, it's dark hackles razed, and its evil eyes glaring at us.


	20. Chapter 20

Hello everyone! I know it's been a long time since I've posted anything I'm really sorry. I've been really discouraged about my writing lately, but the latest review convinced me to continue, so thank you! It really does help me keep writing. I'll try and be better about uploading if people are still interested. Here's the latest chapter, hope you enjoy!

~Secreathalfblood

Dpov

It wasn't hard to convince Adam to leave camp. Not when the only way we could make it into the gardens was by recusing Hannah, which was exactly what I told him.

Since it was still night and unlikely to be noticed by the mortals, we'd each borrowed a Pegasus from the camp to get to central park. While we ran into several monsters, no doubt attracted by Adam, they'd been no match for us.

Now I wasn't one with much love for monsters, but Adam seemed to have a particularly strong hatred for them. All the way here he'd seemed to fight with a reckless rage when any dared to come near us in the air. It was something that I'd never seen in him before and was putting me on edge.

"Dude, you ok?" I asked after Adam had slashed through a harpy the moment we'd touched down.

As usual when Thea wasn't around, he seemed tense, but something about him was different tonight. I'd seen Adam on missions before. Usually he was all calm and collected, but the person before me was not the camp hero I was used to seeing.

He hadn't said a word since he'd agreed to leave the camp with me, and while that wasn't really uncommon for him, I could see it in the way he moved. Everything about him was stiff and rigid, more than usual. As if tonight, it was harder for him to maintain his sense of control.

He didn't answer just motioned for me to move.

"What are you-?" I started as he raised a hand, but I saw electricity gathering in his palm and I had to dive out of the way as a bolt of lightning smashed into the rocks concealing the door.

I felt the ground shake as they tumbled off the pile and hit the earth.

"What the hell?" I asked looking up at him angrily.

"I told you to move." He said his voice flat as I got to my feet.

"You almost shot me!" I hissed indignantly.

The first rays of morning light were shooting across the sky over the park and I looked around anxiously.

"What if someone had seen you?"

"Who cares?" He said already making his way towards the tunnel that would take us into the Underworld.

I watched him uneasily for a second. This wasn't like him. Usually he was so careful, on the verge of being paranoid about his powers, but it seemed like not much mattered to him tonight. It was clear to me that he'd decided nothing was going to stop him from getting through that door.

I followed him at a distance, careful not to get too close. Olympus knows what might happen if I annoyed him right now. I nasty had feeling that monsters wouldn't be the only one on the receiving end of a shock tonight.

Unlike the last time with Ryan and Hannah, the tunnel didn't light up as we descended into the earth. There were no steps and I saw Adam, bent over like me, stumble several times in the darkness. We'd both pulled out our flashlights, but they seemed to be less effective in the gloom than they were up in the mortal world. It was like the darkness in the tunnel was heavier than the night up above. I hadn't noticed this last time. I had to repress a shudder as I looked around, but Adam didn't seem bothered. He continued to walk, still with that unnerving silence until we reached the river.

"Well, well, well." Said a voice as we stepped into the first chamber of Hades to find Charon already waiting for us. "Look who's back." He smiled nastily as his eyes landed on me. "You look far more appropriately miserable my dear boy." He continued, his tone light. "And you've brought another friend."

"Just take your money and let us across." Adam said tonelessly, walking towards the boat.

I expected more trouble and taunts from Charon, but was surprised when he took a drachma from Adam and let him on board. Hades must have ordered him to let us cross, because he took my money too without complaint.

The voyage was entirely silent.

As we sailed across the polluted river, I was left alone with my thought and a fluttering panic began to fill my stomach. What was I doing? Did I really want to do this?

I glanced at Adam who was looking out over the water his eyes dark.

Could I really just trade Adam away like this?

'You don't have a choice,' said a small voice in the back of my head.

But that wasn't true, I knew it wasn't.

I could have tried to find Hannah and Ryan on my own, I could have tried to think of something. A way around this. What would Thea say if she were here? What would Hannah think of me when she found out what I'd done?

But I found when I thought of Hannah, the guilt that was burning through me started to fade. It was my fault she was here, and who knows what Hades had done to her…

I felt my hands ball into fists. If he'd hurt her, or Ryan, well I'd make sure he'd pay. And if I had to pick between giving Adam to him, or saving my best friend and my sister, all of my siblings and friends, well, the choice as obvious. It was the one I'd already made.

"I'm surprised how poorly this place is guarded." He said as we crouched outside the palace gates. They were tall and made out of spiked, wrought iron, sharpened to a lethal point. No monsters had met us as we navigated the Underworld. Our path to the palace had been pretty clear. "Seems a bit too easy, doesn't it?"

"Maybe he's away." I said not looking at Adam, afraid he'd see the truth in my eyes. He already seemed a little suspicious about the lack of resistance we'd met.

"Yeah maybe," he said quietly. "Well, how do you think we should precede?"

"You're asking me?" I asked, surprised into looking at him. He was the adult. Shouldn't he be in charge?

"Well, of the two of us, I expect you're more adept at getting places unnoticed."

He smiled, but it was a bit sarcastic and it didn't reach his eyes.

"Doesn't really look like we'd have to do much sneaking though." He said ducking out to look between the gates again before returning behind the wall. "There's still no one out there. Think it's a trap?"

I felt cold fear surge through me and again, I avoided his eyes.

"I dunno, I'm not good as detecting them as Thea is." I muttered trying to slow my heart rate. "But why would he set a trap? It's not like he's expecting anyone. Anyone alive anyways."

"Good point."

A silence passed between us in which he seemed relaxed, but my thoughts raced. I was sure he didn't suspect anything, a trap, least of all me being part of it, but still… What if something went wrong? What if he figured it out? What would I do? What would he do?

"Well, no time like the present." He said, breaking me from my frantic thoughts. His blade appeared in his hand. "Let's go."

He made to walk through the gates, but as I tried to take a step forward, I found my body had frozen. I tried to take a step again, but nothing happened. Guilt surged through me as a war raged within me. Adam or the others? My family and my friends, or an innocent bystandard. One I wasn't even sure that I liked…

"Adam, hold on." I said putting a hand on his shoulder. I couldn't do this.

"Not now Dennis." He said stiffly, without looking at me.

"I need to tell you something."

"Can't it wait?"

"No, it can't." I said softly and finally he turned looking stressed.

"What?" he asked tone clipped.

"There's something you need to know."

"Dennis, this can-"

"It's can't." I repeated. "Look, the reason I came to get you…" I hesitated and took a deep breath. I had to do it. I had to tell him the truth. "The reason I brought you down here is-"

"Hades." He interrupted, his voice soft. "I know."

"What?" I asked completely stunned.

"I know." He continued flatly. "I know that Hades wanted you to bring me here."

"But how could you?"

"Because he's been after me for years." He said dryly.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you honestly think the amount of monsters I attract is normal?" he asked, his voice bitter.

He looked away from me and out into the Underworld with distaste.

"He hates my father." He continued bitterness in his tone. "He's always hoped he could get to me. Even since I was a kid."

His eyes flashed and I could hear something beyond anger in his voice. It was almost a resignation, as if he'd accepted this a long time ago and it was just a matter of course for him. Situation normal. How messed up was that?

"How do you know this?" I asked hardly able to believe what I was hearing.

"Might have persuaded a couple of monsters to tell me." He said his voice dark and I had to repress a shudder as a shock darted between his fingertips. "The number of times I've had to talk Thea out of trying to make a deal with him…"

His sentence faded and he shook his head. I saw the pain in his eyes as he thought about her.

"Whatever, it's not important now."

"If you knew, why did you come with me?"

"Isn't that obvious?" he asked looking back at me. "He can wake her up."

His voice was toneless but expression was intense. I could see that he knew exactly what was going on, what he was doing, and that he'd accepted his fate.

"That's the deal he offered, you isn't it?" he continued. "You give him me, and he'll wake her up. He'll wake all of them up."

I nodded, unable to meet his gaze.

"Then let's go make it."

"But what about you?" I asked quietly and he looked at me.

His eyes were impossible to read, but I knew he was thinking about the fact that I'd tried to sell him out. Wondering if I really cared.

"It's a little late to think about that now Dennis."

And with that he started making his way to the gate.

I felt a wave of panic wash over me and I quickly stepped after him.

"Adam wait." I started but he ignored me. "I'm sure I can figure something out just give me a second to think."

He kept walking and anger flashed through me.

"Will you hold on?" I grabbed his arm but he pushed me off, angrily this time.

"No Dennis, I'm not waiting. We don't have a lot of time."

"But there's got to be another way."

"You made your choice, and I've made mine. You can't back out now."

And I saw it, the anger he felt towards me was creeping into his eyes. But it wasn't just at me, I could tell. This was years of pain, fury at his situation. Being hunted all his life just for the crime of being born. The rage at what had happened to Thea. All because of me.

"We made our decisions." He said quietly, his voice cold. "Now live with yours."

He turned again, and left me staring after him something close to horror filling me. What had I done? I'd led Adam to what was quite possibly his death all because I was afraid. Afraid I'd fail this mission, too much of a coward to accept the responsibilities of a quest leader and here he was, paying for my mistakes. He knew what was coming for him, but he kept walking anyways. He didn't even flinch. I couldn't let this happen.

I followed him cautiously, afraid if I touched him again he'd try and electrocute me, but there was one thing that got to Adam, even when he was in his insane hero mode. The only thing that could make him see sense when he got like this.

"You can't leave her." I said softly and he froze.

"What?" he asked quietly.

"You can't leave her." I repeated and he turned to face me. "You of all people should know that. Not after everything she's been through." I hesitated before saying the words I didn't like, but I knew were true. "She wouldn't want to live without you."

"I'm doing this for her." He said his expression incredulous. "I don't have a choice."

"That's bullshit and you know it. You always have choice."

"It's not that simple Dennis. If I don't do this. If she never wakes up-"

"And what if she does? What do you think will happen to her if she realizes what you've done? How do you think she'd feel?"

His eyes narrowed.

"You don't understand." He muttered shaking his head and looking away.

"You're not doing this for her." I snapped. "You're doing this for you."

"For me?" he asked angrily.

"Yeah. How you feel right now is exactly how she'd feel if she woke up and you weren't there. Do you want to put her through that?"

"At least she'd be alive." He said a little desperately.

"You are such a moron!" I almost shouted and he looked a little surprised.

"You made a deal."

"Screw the freakin deal." I said angrily. "Why do you always have to be such a martyr? Why do you have always have to follow the rules? Why can't you do what you want for once instead of doing what the perfect hero would do? Just hold on for two seconds. Let me think of a way around this."

At this he looked angry.

"You think I want to go in there?" he asked furiously.

"Yeah. I do." I snapped. "I think you think if you go in there, you won't have to deal with this anymore."

"You're such a child." He said and I practically feel the air vibrating between us as his temper began to build along with his power. "This isn't camp Dennis." he continued furiously. "This isn't one of your stupid pranks where you talk your way out of trouble. This is real life, and sometimes you can't get yourself out of it."

"Of course you can, if you're smart enough."

"Being clever doesn't always work."

"You're an idiot."

"And you need to grow up." He spat. "Gods this is why I told Thea she shouldn't protect you from everything. You've spent your whole time at camp knowing no matter how badly you screw up, there was always someone there for you. Chiron, Thea, your father, they could always cover for you, come running whenever you got in to trouble. Everything's always been just a game for you. Everything's been so easy!"

Anger was hardening his eyes and I felt a sick sensation spread through me.

"You always thought you were so much cleverer than everyone else. That no one could touch you. But guess what Dennis. Sometimes in life you lose. Sometimes you can't win, and the only thing you can do is the right thing and hope it's enough to save the people you love."

"There has to be another way." I said stubbornly, hoping more than believing my words were true.

He glared at me for a full ten seconds and for a moment, I really thought he was going to hit me. He didn't. Instead he shook his head and an expression of extreme fatigue washed over his features, leaving his body limp as he leaned against the wall.

"You don't understand." He said softly, his eyes seeming to look far away. At something I couldn't see. "How could you? You don't know what it's like, having someone you're willing to give everything up for."

An image flashed in my mind's eye, a picture floating down a dirty river, along with how ever many other dreams that had been abandoned when crossing it. Dreams that had been given up when all hope had been abandoned. When people knew what they wanted was never going to happen, that it was the end.

"I do." I said softly and while I didn't look at him, I could feel his eyes on me.

"What?"

"I know what it feels like to have someone you'd do anything for." I said and I looked at him this time. His expression was hard to place, but it seemed that, since finding him in the Big House, I finally had his full attention. "But unlike you I haven't given up. I know bringing you to Hades is wrong. And I don't care if you want to wallow in self-pity." I glared at him. "I'm going to save my family and friends the way my sister taught me. And that means we don't leave anyone behind. Can you imagine what she'd say if she saw you right now? Giving up."

"But what if it doesn't work Dennis?" he asked and for the first time, I thought I saw the mortal side of Adam. Not the brave demigod that everyone at camp had respected and loved when I was a kid, but the human who was flawed. For the first time ever, I saw fear in his eyes.

"We'll figure something out." I assured him. "But the first thing we've got to do is find Hannah and Ryan."

"And how-"

But before he could finish his sentence, I held up a hand to silence him.

"Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

We both paused to listen. Something was making a noise in the distance, a soft, rapid padding, like it was hitting the stone flooring that surrounded us. Something big.

I frowned.

"It sounds like… running."

"Maybe we're about to get a welcoming party." He said his eyes narrowing and he readied his weapon. "Maybe they've noticed we're here."

I too grabbed the sword I'd borrowed from the armory before we left, my pulse racing, but before we could even begin to form a plan, a massive dark shape shot out of the palace gate and skidded to a halt when a voice said.

"Stay!"

I felt shock go through me. I knew that voice…

"Hannah?" I asked in utter confusion when I saw her dismounting the massive hell hound she'd been riding, and helping steady Ryan as her feet touched the ground.

"Dennis, oh thank Gods we found you!" Hannah cried in relief as both Adam and I stared, dumbfounded at the monster she was patting gratefully.

"What are you doing here?" Ryan asked Adam, sounding tired and confused. She coughed but removed her arm from around Hannah, and I was relieved to see she could stand on her own.

"Forget about that for a second." I said shaking my head. "How on Olympus did you get out of Hades' dungeon?"

"Hannah busted open the door." Ryan said grinning slightly. "Then tamed the hell hound. It helped us smash our way out of the castle."

"How?" I asked Hannah who was blushing and scratching the back of her head.

"I guess there's more to my Mom than just flowers." She said modestly but Ryan took over.

"Your little girlfriend has Underworld powers."

"What?" I asked completely confused looking between the two of them.

"We'll explain later." Hannah said quickly. "We need to get moving. The guards weren't far behind us. We need to get into the garden and get out fast."

"Then let's go." Adam said, instincts kicking in and taking charge. "How do we get into the gardens?"

We all turned to Hannah, but she'd already started walking towards the gate.

"What are you doing?" Ryan asked, coughing and leaning against the wall. "We have to get inside the garden, remember?"

"Just trust me." Hannah said confidently, and then she closed it.

There was a metallic 'click' as the doors locked.

"Now what?" Ryan muttered looking at but I shook my head and continued to watch as Hannah wrapped her fingers around the bars of the gate.

Suddenly, they started glow.

What started as blacked ironed was transforming. At first the light was soft, but the longer Hannah held on to the bars, the brighter the light shone.

It was only matter of seconds before I had to look away. There was a bright flash, and when I looked back, I saw the gate had transformed. The doors were taller, made of polished bronze and rounded. The bars were now delicate, with beautifully crafted metal vines of gold and silver wrapping around and between them.

"Here it is," Hannah said grinning, opening the gates and stepping through, obviously excited.

Adam hesitated, looked at the gate warily before walking in after her without comment.

"Well," I said looking at Ryan who was still leaning against the wall. "You ready?"

"Yeah." She said straightening up and swaying slightly.

I caught her, and put her arm around my shoulder. She looked horrible, but hopefully not for long.

"I'm so over this quest or whatever," she continued as I helped her walk. "Let's get out of here."

The moment we stepped through the gate however, I felt my body freeze and my mouth fall open.

"Oh my gods." Ryan said her eyes going wide.

"Cool isn't it?" Hannah asked her smile wide as we took in the garden around us.

"Cool?" I asked weakly.

That was the understatement of the year.

Persephone's garden was the strangest, but most beautiful place I'd ever seen. All around us jewels and precious metals glittered, sparkling from the light of bright torches of pure white fire.

Luminous plants dotted the earth along walkways made with bricks of pure silver. Mushrooms, deadly looking plants, and incredibly detailed statues were scattered throughout the garden. But what really floored me was the size of the place. It was huge. At least several football fields long and wide.

'How are we going to find anything in here?' I thought vaguely but my thoughts were interrupted by a scent.

It was both sweet and tart, and completely intoxicating. I turned to see that at center of the garden was a small orchard, full of what I knew had to be the infamous pomegranate trees. But while I knew the danger that lied there, I couldn't help but imagine how they would taste.

"Don't." Hannah said grabbing the back of my shirt as I took a hesitant step towards the trees.

"Can we focus please?" Adam asked irritated and I snapped back to the present. "I'm sure it won't be long before we're found. Let's get a move on."

"Right." I said shaking my head and trying to ignore the scent. It wasn't easy. "Hannah. Do you know where we're headed?"

"Yeah." She said brightly. "Follow me."


	21. Chapter 21

Thank you for the reviews! They really help motivate me to keep writing i really appreciate it! Hope you like the latest chapter!

~Secrethalfblood

Hpov

I'm not going to lie, despite the circumstances, I was pretty excited to be in my mother's garden. Part of me was just dying to run around and start categorizing the flora, but I forced myself to focus. We didn't have that kind of time. We had to get out of here, and going by his expression, I was pretty sure Adam was about ready to strangle anyone who held up our progress.

Even if I hadn't memorized the layout of the garden from the books in my cabin, it would have been easy to find what we were looking for. From the second I stepped into the garden, I found I knew where everything was.

"The rose should be near the east gate." I said leading them down a path that went to our right.

"There's more than one entrance in to the garden?" Adam asked uneasily. I noticed his grip tighten around the hilt of his sword.

I nodded and he frowned, which made we worry.

"What's wrong?"

"More access points are always a bad thing." Dennis said, looking just as concerned as Adam. "It's more places for people to get in and find us from."

He was still helping Ryan walk, and for once, it looked as if she were too tired to complain.

"Doesn't it also mean we have more places to escape?" I asked trying to remain hopeful, but it was crushed when I saw Adam and Dennis exchange a wary glance.

"What?" I asked feeling my stomach sink.

"Well, it would if we knew the palace better than the guards," Dennis explained. "And if we knew where all the guards were. But we don't. It's likely they're splitting up to find us, and the more entrances into the garden…"

"The more likely it is someone's going to check one of them." Adam said with brutal honesty. "Let's keep moving."

We continued down the silver pathway passing more precious gems and rare plants. We'd just walked under an arch made of pure platinum when I spotted it, an ornate golden gate.

"We're here!" I said excitedly jogging towards the gate, feeling my heart leap.

"The rose bush should be just to the right, right…" but I felt my smile fade with my voice as my heart stopped.

This couldn't be right.

"What's wrong?" Dennis asked as the others caught up with me, but I didn't have to answer. The second they paused, they saw it.

Where a rose bush should have been, there was nothing but a golden stump. As if the plant had been hacked and cut back to nothing but a few glowing stalks.

"I don't understand." I said looking around frantically, trying to make sense of what I was seeing in front of me. "What happened? Who-"

"Hades." Adam said his voice dead.

We all turned to look at him, but he was looking at Dennis.

"He must have known you'd want to back out. He made sure there was no way of you getting out of the deal. That he was your only option."

"Deal?" I asked confused while Ryan frowned at her brother and asked.

"What is he talking about?"

Neither of them answered, but a look of understanding passed between them.

"Well he wasted his time." Dennis said his tone hard.

"Dennis, it's over." Adam said shaking his head.

"No, it's not."

"Look at it. The bush is dead. It's gone!"

"Maybe, but he didn't count on something."

"What?" Adam and I asked in unison, but Ryan had a look of comprehension dawn over her features.

"Hannah." she said looking at me.

"Me?" I asked in shock. "What about me?"

"Flower powers." She said as if this were obvious and he nodded, shifting slightly and readjusting his grip on her.

"Hannah can bring it back." Dennis said grinning. "Guess Hades underestimated his own wife."

"Dennis, I'm not sure…" I started hesitantly. "It's metal. It's not like other plants…"

"Hannah, I've seen you do it a million times." He said confidently as Adam looked between the stump and me. "How many times have people told you something was beyond saving and you proved them wrong?"

"I-"

But I was cut off by a shout.

"Intruders! In the garden! I've found the prisoners!"

Both Dennis and Adam swore, readying their weapons as several skeleton guards started running in our direction.

"Hurry!" Dennis said transferring Ryan's arm from his shoulder to mine. "Adam and I will hold them off."

"But-" I started, but it was too late. The boys started running to meet the guards.

"Come on." Ryan said untangling herself from me and kneeling next to what was left of the rose bush, but I didn't move.

I felt a wave of panic wash over me as all my insecurities suddenly flooded throughout me, with paralyzing force.

"Hannah?"

I didn't answer. I was frozen. This was it. It was all down to me. If I couldn't do this, the campers weren't going to wake up. My friends and Dennis's family, even Chiron… If I messed up now, like I messed up everything, how could he ever forgive me?

"Hannah!"

Behind me I heard the sound of weapons clashing as Adam and Dennis started the battle.

More guards continued to pour into the garden, and light flashed off the metal around us as Adam sent a wave of electricity to halt their attack.

'What am I doing here?' I thought in panic. No one ever left me to do anything important. No one ever depended on me for anything. This was a job for the older campers, the more powerful ones. People that belonged on quests.

"Hannah! What are you doing?!" Ryan shouted furiously. "What are you waiting for?!"

"What if I can't do it?" I asked quietly and she looked at me.

"What?" she asked incredulously.

"What if I can't do it? What if I can't make it grow back? What happens then? What if-"

"Oh my Gods Hannah!" Ryan said looking as if she wanted to hit me. "Are you kidding me right now?"

"What-"

"Now is not the time for you to fall apart!"

"But I'm not my mother! None of my siblings have ever done anything like this before. What if-"

"I don't care what your siblings have done!" she said getting to her feet and grabbing the front of my shirt. "Have any of your siblings been to the Underworld?"

She glared at me, fury practically sparking out of my eyes.

"Well-"

"A half an hour ago, I saw you tear open a cell door. After that, you tamed a wild hell hound that wanted to kill us. I've seen you reverse the effects of pit scorpion venom, and quite possibly the most unbelievable of all, you've managed to get through Dennis's idiot skull. You are a demigod, a daughter of Persephone, and I'll be damned if you are defeated by a little bush. Now get to work!" she shouted. "Before I smack some sense into you."

She continued to glower at me, but strangely, it seemed to clear my mind.

"Ok." I said shaking my head and she let me go.

"Ok, alright." I continued kneeling next to the bush.

The garden continued to flash from the lightning, and I could hear the weapons clanging along with shouts as more guards came, but I ignored all of it. I knelt next to what was left of the plant, and placed my hands on the gold.

It started to glow.

"That's it." Ryan said as I felt warm energy traveling down my arms, into the metal. Slowly, as if watching a time lapse video, new branches started budding from the stump. They grew as each second passed, glowing with a bright warm light as they split off and leaves began to form.

"Not to rush you or anything." Ryan said glancing over her shoulder. "But if we could move this along any faster…"

I ignored her and continued to concentrate. Already I could feel the fatigue creeping through me, but I put it in the back of my mind as the leaves burst open and grew in size.

"More are coming…" Ryan said sounding worried and I felt her hand on my shoulder.

Tiny flower buds began dotting the branches, I could feel my fingers trembling with the effort of sustaining the plant's growth and sweat beaded on my forehead. Just a little bit longer…

But then, I heard something that made my heart stand still and the light emanating from the gold die. A shout of pain, a voice I recognized.

Both Ryan and I turned in horror to see that Adam and Dennis had been surrounded, Dennis kneeling, clutching his side. When he pulled his hand away, I saw they were stained red.

Before I could even begin to process what had happened, Ryan had swore and was running, but before she could take two steps, she collapsed into a fit of coughs and plummeted to the ground. She didn't get back up.

"No." I said quietly feeling my eyes go wide. We were so close.

Adam was still fighting but those who'd surrounded Dennis were now joining their fellow guards, and he was quickly becoming overwhelmed.

"No." I repeated horrified. It wasn't fair. We'd gotten this far.

One guard had remained behind from the others who'd gone to battle Adam. He approached Dennis, weapon ready, and my body went cold as I saw him reach out, preparing to strike.

"DENNIS!" I shouted desperately but it was too late. The guard was in motion, the blade swinging, and then, several things happened at once.

There was a bright flash and a sound like a cannon blast. I was thrown off of my feet, my head connecting with the ground with a sickening 'Twack!' My vision went dark, and then, things were silent.

…..

I wasn't sure how long it was before I woke up, but when I did, it was sudden. As if someone had turned on a switch, and I was brought back to consciousness.

I heard people talking, but they sounded far away, their voices oddly distorted. I couldn't make out what they were saying.

My ears were ringing, and the fatigue I'd been fighting while trying to restore the rosebush was starting to take its effect. My whole body felt impossibly heavy.

I was aware of something, maybe someone, leaning over me, but I couldn't figure out who it was. My vision was blurry, tunnel like. The world was swimming.

A few seconds passed like this as I tried to get my bearings, then, out of nowhere, the world snapped into focus.

My eyes met with a pair of blue ones and I realized the person looking down at me was Adam.

"Dennis." He said looking over his shoulder as I groaned. "She's awake."

Slowly, groggily, I sat up just in time for someone to fall next to me. It was Dennis, his eyes were wide. He looked terrified.

"Hannah, are you ok?" he asked frantically.

"I think so." I said rubbing the back of my head where it had hit the ground and looked around. "What happened? I thought you were injured, I thought-"

"Nothing a little ambrosia couldn't fix." He said gesturing towards his side. His shirt was torn and bloody, but under it was a faint scar that looked like the wound was already several days old. "Adam brought some from camp. You should take some too, you look awful."

"What happened? Where are all the guards? Where's Ryan?"

"Just slow down for a second." He said putting and arm around me and helping me up. I tried to find my feet, but when I tried to support my own weight, almost immediately my knees buckled.

"Take this." Adam said handing me a square of the divine food which I accepted.

As I chewed the ambrosia, I felt my strength returning to me limb by limb, and the garden came into sharper focus. When it did, I felt my jaw fall open.

"What happened?" I asked dumbfounded.

All around me the plants had reached full bloom, metallic vines had had overgrown everywhere. It no longer looked like a garden. It looked like some sort of Underworld jungle.

"You did." Adam said dispassionately looking around and the mess. "Something must have triggered your powers to go into overdrive, 'cuz one second I was fighting, the next, you were glowing and this place came to life."

"What do you mean?"

"Look." Dennis said gesturing towards a clump of trees. I saw a set of vines spiraling around them, binding a couple of the palace guards to the trunks.

As I continued to look around, I saw examples of nature gone wild. Guards, trapped under tree roots, hacking at branches that had caged them, struggling with walls of briars that had shot up around them.

"I did this?" I asked in horror. No wonder I'd passed out.

"Not only that." Dennis said gesturing towards the gate and I saw with relief that the rose bush had remained unharmed. Even better, it was in full bloom.

"Great!" I said grinning. "Let's get some of the roses and get out of here. Where's Ryan?"

I felt my smile fade however, when I caught Dennis's expression.

"What?" I asked feeling my heart sink. Had something gone wrong?

"She, well, she's like the others now." He said quietly nodding towards a point several feet to the right of the rosebush, where I saw Ryan had been propped up on a tree, her eyes closed. She looked lifeless.

"I guess we get to see if my theory works." I said nervously.

"We'd better hope it does." Adam said quietly.

His expression was impossible to read, but his eyes were dark. They looked worried.

"C'mon." Dennis said and together we walked towards the golden roses, and I felt fear mounting within me with each step I took.

What if it didn't work? What if we'd gone all this way for nothing. I didn't have a plan b. This had to work. It just had to.

"Here." Adam said reaching into his pocket and pulling out a pocket knife.

I knew it was his weapon of choice, a magical item that had the ability to transform into a sword, but when he opened the blade, I was surprised to see it remained a small knife, only a few inches long.

"To cut off the rose." He clarified as I took the tool and inspected it.

I nodded and reached towards the plant.

It was surprisingly easy to cut through. After everything this mission had entailed, I was expecting a bit more of a process in harvesting the roses, but they cut with no resistance, and within seconds, I had several.

"I guess it's now or never I said quietly, walking towards Ryan, and kneeling next to her.

I took her hand in my own, and pressed her index finger against a thorn on the biggest flower.

"Well?" Dennis asked softly.

Nothing happened.

I pressed Ryan's finger harder against the thorn, so hard a bead of blood welled around the tip, but she remained unresponsive.

"This can't be happening." Adam said softly as cold flooded through me.

He backed away from us, sounding horrified.

"No, no, no, no."

"Try again." Dennis said, his voice shaking.

"Dennis. I don't think-" I started, feeling tears forming in my eyes, but he cut me off.

"Try again!" he cried but was then distracted, by a shout.

I turned just in time to Adam throw a bolt of lightning into one of the statues that littered the garden. It flew a part in an explosion of sparks and flying chunks of debris.

Dennis swore as Adam continued blasting parts of the garden apart. He made to run after Adam, but I grabbed his wrist.

"Are you crazy?" I asked, as electricity continued to flash.

"We've got to do something!"

"You're going to get fried!"

"Yeah probably." He said pulling himself out of my grip. I tried to catch him again, but he was already gone.

I watched in horror as Dennis sprinted towards Adam, dodging the rubble he'd left behind.

"Adam!" Dennis shouted. "Calm down!"

Adam ignored him.

"Hades is going to figure out you're here!" Dennis continued ducking a tree that came crashing to the ground.

"Let him come!" Adam shouted this time hitting a fountain. It cracked and sprayed water everywhere, but he ignored it as he continued. "Let him find me! I don't care!"

Another flash and a second tree fell.

They continued to argue for a few moments, but I didn't catch what they were saying on the count of someone sitting next to me and a familiar voice saying.

"So, want to fill me in on Adam's freak out?"

"Ryan?" I asked turning in astonishment to see her watching the boys with mild interest.

"Who'd you expect?"

"Oh my gods!" I shouted tackling her into a hug. "You're ok!"

"Yeah." She said going stiff. "But shouldn't we be doing something about that?'

She jerked her thumb towards the others and I let her go.

"Right." I said grabbing the roses I'd cut and getting to my feet. Ryan followed suit.

Together we ran towards the chaos, our arms over our heads trying to shield ourselves from the destruction of the garden.

"DENNIS!" I shouted ducking behind a stone bench as a bolt flew over me.

"Hannah! Get out of here!" he shouted. He'd taken cover behind a rock pile that looked as if it used to be some sort of arch, and was gesturing for me to get out of the line of fire. "Get back to Ryan!"

"She's with me!"

"What?" he yelled.

"Look!" I gestured towards Ryan next to me and his eyes went wide.

"ADAM!" he shouted, but before we could do anything else to attract his attention, it was as if the light was sucked out of the garden.

The torches around us went out in a blast of ice cold wind, leaving Adam's lightning the only source of light.

"What's going on?" Ryan asked but I felt my stomach sink as the ground under us began to shake.

"We've got to get out of here." I said grabbing her hand and dragging her out from behind the bench.

"Are you insane?" she asked struggling to breaking my grip but I ignored this and continued to drag her.

"Do you want to get torched?" she shouted.

"I'd rather that than what's about to happen."

"What?"

"He's coming." I said not sure how I knew, but knowing it all the same. "Hades is coming. Dennis!"

He too had ducked out of his hiding spot. We all started running towards Adam, all worries of electrocution gone, but it was too late. The second we reached him, the earth split and out of it, grew black flames that towered above us.

All around us the torches relit, burning a sinister green, and the shadows they created seemed to elongate and grow darker as a man stepped out of the flames. He was tall, and would have been handsome if it wasn't for the dark aura that surrounded him.

He grinned as he spotted us, and despite everything that had happened on this quest, everything I'd been through since stepping into the Underworld, nothing had come close to filling me with fear like his smile.

"You demigods have created quite a mess." The man said, sounding callously amused. "My wife won't be pleased."

His eyes darted towards me, and I took a step back, but they didn't linger.

"You did get much farther than I expected however." He continued looking around at the decimated garden. "Seems a shame almost." He sighed. "You were so close."

He snapped his fingers, and suddenly we were surrounded by a ring of the very flames he'd appeared in.

"Did you really expect me to let you go?" Hades continued sounding amused and a thrill of fear went through me as the fire crept closer towards us.

The others readied their weapons, but I knew it would do no use. We were trapped.

"Though I must say I'm a little disappointed in you." The god continued, his eyes landing on Dennis. "You seemed intelligent to me. I thought I could count on you to make the smart choice." He shook his head. "You would have made it out of here alive. Such a disappoint-"

He didn't get to finish his sentence. He was cut off by a bolt of lightning that slammed into his chest and knocked him back about thirty feet.

"I don't understand why the Gods always insist on talking so much before they try to kill you." Adam said flatly as we all stared at him. "Honestly, I think they'd save themselves a lot of trouble if they'd just learn to shut up."

"Holy crap." I said looking at him my eyes wide. "Oh my gods. You just shot lightning at the god of death."

The fire around us had died when Hades had been knocked out, but I knew a hit like that wouldn't keep him down for long.

"Yeah, you guys should start running. Now."

"Us?" I asked and Ryan looked at Adam her eyes narrowed.

"What about you?"

"Someone's got to keep him busy." He said nodding towards the god that was starting to stir. "Otherwise there's no way you'd make it to the mortal world."

"No." Dennis said shaking his head. He looked furious.

"Dennis, stop wasting time."

"We're not leaving you behind."

"Do you want to wake up the others or not?" Adam asked.

"But-"

"Dennis, it sounds like he's made his choice." Ryan said anxiously. "Let's go before we're all trapped."

"And what am I supposed to tell Thea?" Dennis snapped looking at Adam.

"The truth." Adam said with a shrug. "That I love her and I'm going to miss her."

"I won't have to." Dennis snarled. "Because you'll tell her yourself."

"Get out of here Dennis." Adam continued, readying his sword. Hades had pushed himself off the ground and was slowly getting to his knees.

"But-"

"Now!" he said throwing out his arm and sending a blast out way so we were forced to take cover.

Hades was on his feet, and walking towards Adam. His dark eyes were hard with fury.

"He can't do this." Dennis said shaking his head as Adam and the god faced each other. "We've got to help."

But as he made to run back to Adam, Ryan grabbed his shirt and held him back.

"What are you doing?" Dennis asked furiously.

"Do you want to die?" Ryan asked looking just as angry.

She'd grabbed him just in time. There was a deafening 'CRACK', like the sound of stone splitting as, in unison, Hades and Adam struck. A jet of dark flames met a streak of lightning with such force, we were thrown off our feet.

"WE'VE GOT TO GO!" Ryan shouted over the noise that was echoing around the garden, crawling behind a tree for better cover.

Lightning continued to flash as the black fire spread, consuming what was left of my mother's garden.

She gestured towards the exit but Dennis shook his head.

"WE CAN'T LEAVE HIM!" Dennis shouted back.

"WE'RE GOING TO DIE IF WE DON'T!"

The fire was growing wild, black flames reaching the tops of the trees, and I knew if we didn't leave now, we'd never make it out.

"DENNIS! LET'S GO!" I shouted diving out of a way as a smoldering branch crashed to the ground.

I'd ended up next to Ryan and I saw Dennis was looking franticly between us, and the battle that was raging between Adam and the God. I could see the decision forming in his mind, and it was the wrong one. The choice I couldn't let him make.

"DENNIS, PLEASE!" I shouted desperately, my eyes traveling over the explosions erupting between Adam and Hades as they battled.

He couldn't go into that. I didn't care how fast he was. I wouldn't let him.

Dennis glanced one last time at the battle, then back at me, and I knew I had nothing to fear.

"Time to move Hannah," Ryan said pushing me towards the direction of the gate and the next thing I knew, I was running faster than I ever had in my life, dodging fire, flying chunks of debris, and trying not to think of the fight behind us, who we were leaving behind.

We made it out of the garden just in time to see what was left of the palace guards rushing through the gate, not even bothering with us as panic stricken, they hurried to the aid of their king.

I felt my body go cold. Even if by some miracle Adam managed to get away from Hades, there was no way he'd be able to escape. He'd be surrounded in a matter of minutes.

There was an ugly silence that passed between the three of us as I was sure the others were realizing this as well.

"We should get going." Ryan said quietly. Her expression was unreadable, but her eyes were dark and I could tell she wasn't as calm as she was presenting. "He wanted to buy us time, we shouldn't waste it."

"You're right. You shouldn't." Dennis said looking at his sister. "Get back to camp. Wake everyone up."

"What about you?" I asked confused. "Aren't you coming too?"

"No." he shook his head. "I'm staying here."

"But-" I started but Ryan cut me off.

"Why on earth would you do that?" she asked looking at him as if he was insane.

"Because you guys were right, staying there would have been suicide but I'm not leaving without Adam."

"Dennis," she said calmly, but I saw her hands were shaking. "Let's just assume that he isn't already obliterated at this point. How exactly do you expect to get to him before Hades _does_ finish the job?"

"Hades isn't going to kill Adam."

"I don't care how powerful you think he is, there's no way Adam can-"

"I'm not saying he couldn't kill him." Dennis interrupted a bitterness to his voice. "I'm saying he won't. He's got plans involving Adam."

"Oh and you know this how?" Ryan asked sarcastically and while I expected Dennis to fire back he didn't.

Instead, he sighed and I noticed he wouldn't look at either Ryan or I.

"Because," he muttered. "I'm the reason he was here in the first place."

"What?" I asked confused and I saw Ryan's eyes narrow.

"Explain."

"When you and Hannah got dragged off, I went to the palace." Dennis said again not looking at us, but somewhere off in the distance. "I met with Hades, and made a deal. He agreed to set you both free and wake everyone up if I brought him Adam."

"You did what?" I asked in horror while Ryan looked at him in shock.

"Dude, that's messed up." She said. "Thea's going to kill you."

"You think I don't know that?" Dennis asked angrily, but I heard a bit of a plea in his voice. "I panicked ok? But I couldn't go through with it. And I can't leave, not without Adam. I've got to make this right."

His eyes met mine and I could see the apology in them. I could also see, that I wouldn't be able to change his mind.

"You guys should go." He said quietly. "Try and get back to the mortal world and camp as soon as you can."

"Not without you." I said stubbornly.

"Hannah, I'll be fine."

"You don't know that!"

"She's right." Ryan said shaking her head. "You don't."

"Maybe not," he said shaking his head. "But one thing we do know is that no one at camp will recover if no one comes back."

"But-"

"This isn't a discussion Hannah." He said avoiding my gaze again. "I'm staying. But you guys need to get back to camp before it's too late."

"And if you don't come back?" I asked hearing the tremble in my voice. What would I do then?

He looked at me for a few seconds, and seemed to want to say something, but then decided against it. Instead, he said.

"If I don't come back, well," he hesitated, but then continued with. "Considering what I did to Adam, maybe I got what I deserved."


	22. Chapter 22

Dpov

"You just had to date the martyr Thea." I muttered to myself, irritated as forced myself through the window I'd opened. "You HAD to date the guy half of Olympus has a problem with. Could have dated a nice boy from the Apollo cabin, or the Iris cabin, but no. You had to date the trouble magnet. You had to date son of Zeus. Adam freaking Kall."

The lock wasn't hard to undo. I'd been unlocking things mentally for years, but the window was tiny and I wasn't as small as I used to be.

It was a tight fit, but eventually, after a series of undignified wiggles and shimmies, I managed to get through and dropped to the floor.

'Glad no one was here to see that.' I thought dryly as I took in my surroundings, trying to figure out what part of the castle I was in.

I was in a hallway of some sort, and it was dark. I must have been in part of the palace that wasn't used very much. Despite that, I knew I couldn't stay here long. I needed to figure out where Adam was, if he was even still here, so I turned and started running towards the nearest intersection, hoping I might stumble into someone that could give me information.

It wasn't hard to move without being noticed, that was an advantage of being child of Hermes, we were completely silent when we wanted to be. I continued to run down corridors feeling my anxiety increase with each passing second. The longer I stayed here, the more danger I was in and the less likely it was that Adam was still here. I had to do this fast. It was more than likely that my life depended on it.

It took about ten minutes before I ran into someone. I'd just stepped into a corridor that, judging by its size and decoration, lead to the throne room, when I spotted a couple of guards rounding the corner of a second hall, and turning into mine.

I dove behind a tapestry and waited.

"-should be someone outside his cell at all times. We can't lose another one. That would be three demigods in one day! His majesty would kill us!"

"We're already dead." Said a second, higher voice, sounding far from interested.

"You know what I mean!" the first guard said in exasperation. "He didn't care about the Hermes girl and he would have eventually had to let her majesty's daughter go. But if we lose the son of Zeus…"

"You're right he would be furious."

There was a moment of silence between them as their footsteps grew closer and I held my breath, trying not to betray a hint of movement that might give away my position behind the tapestry.

"What is he going to do with him anyways?" the second guard asked and I realized they were on the other side of the drapery.

"The son of Zeus?"

"Yeah."

"I don't really know, but the rumor was that he was going to try to contact Eris."

Fear flooded through me, causing my body to go cold. That wasn't good.

"Poor boy." The second voice continued, getting fainter as they continued down the hall.

I let out my breath and started to think. From what they were saying, it sounded like they were holding Adam in the dungeon, just like Ryan and Hannah, and it sounded like I had to get Adam out of there now. Eris was infamous for her cruelty, and she did not like Adam. Even if she didn't kill him the moment she got her hands on him, she would eventually, and I knew that however long his life lasted, if given to her, it would not be pleasant.

Once I was sure the guards were gone, I ducked out from behind the tapestry and looked around. Finding the dungeon wouldn't be too hard. All I really had to do was find the set of stairs that went down farther than the rest of them, but where was the best place to start?

In the end, I got lucky. I stumbled across a guard that was heading to relieve the soldier outside Adam's cell, and was able to follow him.

I hung back outside the dungeon door and heard the two have a brief conversation before the change over, but I was too far away to hear what was said. Part of me wanted to barge in and take them by surprise, but I didn't have a weapon. I'd lost it in the chaos of escaping Persephone's Garden, and I knew both of the guards would be armed. I'd have to take them down quietly, and separately, otherwise this place was going to be crawling with Hades' minions in a matter of seconds.

The guards had stopped talking and I heard footsteps coming towards the door. I knew I had seconds to plan my move, and I felt my brain working in over drive trying to plan out how it would go.

There was a click and a creak as the door slowly opened. Using my speed, I grabbed the guard, clapped my hand over his skeletal mouth, ew, and pushed him against the wall. We struggled for a second, but I managed to grab his weapon, a broad sword, and disarm him. I brought the hilt down at the top of his skull and he collapsed into a pile of bones.

"Gross." I muttered frowning as they twitched feebly, obviously trying to reorganize themselves. I kicked the pile, causing them to scatter and then ran into the dungeon. Unfortunately, my luck had run out.

"What the-"

The guard outside Adam's cell had been facing the door as I'd run through it, and unlike most of the guards I'd run into, he wasn't armed with a traditional weapon. He was holding a machine gun, and it was trained right on my chest.

I swore.

"Who are you?" the guard asked gruffly, walking towards me, weapon ready. But as he passed outside Adam's cell, a hand shot out from between the bars and pinned him against the door.

In his surprise, he pulled the trigger and I threw my self onto the ground, arms over my head as bullets sprayed everywhere.

I heard a struggle and when it was safe to look up, I saw that the guard had dropped his gun and was still trapped.

I scrambled to my feet, swung my recently acquired sword, and lobbed off his head then chucked it as far as I could down the row of cells. The rest of him collapsed, but I ignored this and looked between the bars to see Adam, panting from the effort of subduing the guard, and staring at me in complete shock.

"Dennis?" he asked as if he couldn't believe it.

"Yeah." I said a little awkwardly. "Hey."

"What the _hell_ are you doing here?"

"What do you think?" I asked raising an eyebrow. "I'm getting you out. Jeez," I paused as I took in his appearance. "You look like crap."

It was true. Adam looked extremely beat up. He was pale with a black eye and bruises that stood out vividly against his skin. Cuts covered his body. I wasn't sure if his fight with Hades had been that intense or he'd been roughed up after he'd been captured, but honestly, in his condition, I was surprised he could stand.

"You shouldn't have come." He said shaking his head, looking horrified. "What about Hannah and Ryan? What if they need you?"

"They can take care of themselves." I said dismissively. "And for the love of Apollo you're the one who needs my help right now. Not them. Besides," I shrugged off my book bag and kneeled next to the cell door, pulling out my lock picking set and getting to work. "Thea would murder me if I don't bring you back."

At this he let out a small laugh then winced and grabbed his sides, which led me to believe he'd broken a few ribs.

The lock clicked open and he stepped out of the cell looking a bit unsteady on his feet.

"You ok?" I asked uneasily.

"Fine." He said though his voice was tight. He was obviously in pain, and I didn't have any ambrosia.

"Have you got anything left? Any sort of power?" I asked and he shook his head.

"No. The fight with Hades took a toll on me."

"I can see that."

"We're going to have to sneak out of here, or hope for a miracle. Maybe both."

"Well I'm fresh out of miracles." I said with a grin. "But sneaking I can help you with."

He didn't respond, but I could have sworn I saw him roll his eyes as I turned to face the dungeon door.

"C'mon Kall. We gotta get out of here before they realize you're missing."

"Right," he said and together we started towards the exit when I froze.

"What?" Adam asked confused as I turned.

"I dunno." I said continuing to look around cell. "Something's off."

Something didn't feel right. A force had entered the room, one that felt familiar but... it couldn't be possible.

"What do you mean?" he asked tensing and looking around. "I don't-"

But I held up a hand to silence him when I noticed something moving in the cell nearest to us. The cell was dark, and whatever was in it was cast in shadow. It was hard to make out what it was, or it's patterns of movement, but still, I couldn't help but feel like something wasn't right. She couldn't be here. She and Ryan had left for the mortal world hours ago, long before I'd gotten into the castle.

But there was no mistaking that energy. I'd recognize it anywhere.

"Hannah?" I asked hesitantly.

The movement stopped, and suddenly, the power I sensed turned darker.

My stomach contracted with fear as my eye went wide. Yes, something was most definitely wrong.

"Run." I said to Adam.

"What?"

"Run!" I shouted not caring who heard me, and as I turned preparing to sprint as fast as I could, vines shot out from between the bars of the cell.

I hit the ground hard and let out a cry of surprise as slowly, the vines started dragging me towards the cell.

"Dennis!" Adam shouted in shock. He the sword I dropped, and started hacking at the vines.

They retracted slightly, then went after him too, tangling around his limbs and dragging him to the ground.

I struggled, trying desperately to break the hold of the vines that wrapped around me like cords, binding my arms and legs as a figure stepped out of the cell, giving me a cruel smile.

"What the-" Adam said his eyes going wide, but she snapped her fingers and he vanished in a shower of petals.

"Hello Dennis," the Goddess said looking at me with wicked amusement. "Leaving so soon?"

I stared in utter confusion, at the woman who looked so much like her daughter. But what was she doing here? What the hell was going on?

"I think it's time you and I had a talk."


	23. Chapter 23

Hpov

Getting back to the mortal world was difficult. Ryan and I ran into monster after monster, they followed us all the way back to the Door of Orpheus.

"Where do these things keep coming from?" Ryan shouted, furiously hacking at a harpy that attacked us as soon as we stumbled out of the door and into the park.

"I dunno but I'm done with this." I said darkly, reaching a hand out and feeling the ground beneath us tremble. Tree roots shot out of the earth, tangled around the harpy's wings and tore it from the sky. Ryan took it out with one swipe of her sword and gave me a sharp look.

"What?"

"It would have been nice to know you could do that, you know, like a couple of days ago."

I looked down at my hands and shrugged.

"Well, I know now."

"Yeah." She said with a humorless laugh and we looked around the park.

I had no idea what time it was, or what day, but by the quality of the light filtering through the clouds, it seemed as if it was early morning. Just before sunrise.

Already joggers were making their way around the park, but none of them seemed to notice the two teenagers that had stepped out of the earth back into the mortal world.

Ryan seemed to be thinking along these lines because she said.

"You know this is still all so weird to me." She said with a frown as the door resealed itself. "The mortals really don't notice anything, do they?"

"Lucky them." I said tersely and she looked a little amused.

"C'mon," she said gesturing for me to follow her towards the road. "We've got to get back to camp."

We didn't speak as we walked, but when I made to hail a taxi, she caught my arm.

"What?"

"How do you expect to pay the cab driver?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

It was then I realized, both of our bags had been confiscated when we'd been thrown into Hades dungeon. We didn't have any money.

"We're going to have to steal someone's wallet, aren't we?" I asked guiltily and she snorted.

"We?" she asked in an annoyingly superior tone.

"Fine, _you_." I said rolling my eyes.

"I could steal money for cab fare." She said but then a wicked gleam entered her eyes. "Or we could steal that."

She pointed towards an expensive looking car with its hazards on, outside a ritzy looking hotel, obviously made for people with money. The car was clearly running, but no one was in it.

"What kind of idiot leaves their car running in the middle of New York City?" I asked. The trunk was open, and I guessed the owner was taking their luggage into the hotel expecting the hotel staff to watch his car. His mistake.

"One that's just asking for it to be taken." She said with an evil smile.

She made her way towards the car but I grabbed her arm.

"Ryan, hold on a second."

"Oh come on Hannah!" she growled. "The guy's askign for it."

"But-"

"It's the fastest way to get back camp, but if you don't want to take the car you can just-"

"That wasn't what I was going to say." I said annoyed and she looked at me in surprise.

"What were you going to say?"

"You're fifteen, right?"

"So?"

"So, do you even know how to drive?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

At this her expression fell.

"Didn't think so." I said with a smirk. "I'll drive."

"Fine." She said sourly.

No one paid attention to us as we crossed the street, but we did get a couple of suspicious looks when we approached the car. Obviously, people were wondering what two teenagers were doing checking out such a nice-looking vehicle, but I tried to follow Ryan's lead and act confident and at ease as I stepped towards the driver's side.

"Crap!" I said my eyes going wide in panic as I reached to open the door only to find it locked, a series of numbered buttons on the handle.

"What's wrong?" Ryan asked raising an eyebrow.

"It's got a key code." I said. "It's locked."

I guess we knew why the owners felt comfortable leaving it running…

"Oh no, what a tragedy." Ryan said in mock horror, giving me a patronizing look. "If only someone could unlock it."

"Oh shut up." I snapped and she laughed.

She put her hand on the door and I heard the doors unlock.

I grinned a little guiltily and opened the driver's side.

"HEY!"

I froze and my eyes met with Ryan's. We both looked back at the hotel to see a man in a business suit running towards us, looking furious.

"Time to go Hannah." Ryan said sliding into passenger seat.

Without thinking, I hopped into the car, put it into drive and slammed on the gas.

We pealed out into the already crowded street, barely avoiding the other drivers as we sped away from the curb.

"Get out of the way. Get out of the way." I muttered to myself as I weaved in and out of traffic, trying to move fast enough to get away from the hotel and the man that had been running after us, but not so fast that I'd get pulled over.

Several people honked at me but I ignored them, my knuckles white on the steering wheel as I took a sharp turn and then another, trying to get lost on one of the many side roads the city had to offer.

After five minutes of driving like a maniac, or Ryan looked over her shoulder and said.

"I think we're good."

"I just stole a car." I said my eyes wide and my voice shaking.

"Yup." She said with a laugh. She leaned forward and started scanning through the radio stations.

"I've never stolen anything before." I said my voice going up an octave and turning again.

"Never?" she asked in surprise and I shook my head.

"You've been friends with Dennis for years and he's never convinced you to steal, not even once?"

"No."

"Well." She said grinning and settling on a classic rock station. "Way to start big."

"Start?" I asked looking at her incredulously. "No, no, no, no, no. This isn't a start to anything, in fact this is an end to something. I'm not stealing ever again, this was a one-time thing."

"Suit yourself." She said with a shrug and I turned on to a street that would take us out of the city and towards the interstate.

"Do you know where you're going?" She asked as I switched lanes.

"No. Do you know the camp address?"

"Yeah, why?"

"See if this thing has a GPS. Even if doesn't have the actual camp address we might be able to drive to something close."

"Good thinking." She said with a nod and started messing with the display screen in the dashboard.

A couple minutes passed while the music filled the car, and eventually she got us set on a course to Long Island.

Things were silent between us for a while. Ryan seemed pretty relaxed while I tried to concentrate on not getting pulled over and not thinking about things like 'has this car been reported stolen yet?'.

Eventually, it was Ryan who broke the silence.

"What was Dennis like when you guys were younger?"

"What?" I asked shocked into looking at her instead of the road and nearly rear ending the SUV in front of us when they slammed on their breaks.

"What was he like when you guys first met?" she asked. For once she wasn't scowling at me. She seemed genuinely curious as to how I would answer.

"Why do you care?" I asked suspiciously and she shrugged.

"What else have we got to talk about? We've got like two hours to kill."

"I dunno." I said shrugging. "Kind of nervous to be honest, well, when he first started coming to camp. He outgrew it pretty quickly. But other than that, pretty much the same guy you know. Easy going until you mess with someone he cares about. Never cared much about rules, didn't like being told what to do, does what he wants anyways. Sometimes acts without thinking when his temper gets the better of him."

"Yeah, no kidding." She muttered.

"Why do you ask?" I questioned and she seemed to think for a second.

"You know, I don't really know." She shrugged. "I guess I just wanted to know a little more about him."

"Why?" I asked in surprise.

This didn't seem like something Ryan would normally do. I knew she had some sort of appreciation, or at least respect for Dennis, but I'd always thought she'd understood their relationship as one she'd get something out of, and only that. What good did knowing about Dennis when he was younger do her?

"Well he is my brother." She said as if this were obvious.

"Yeah but you don't care about that." I said knowing I'd feel bad about saying this if it was anyone but Ryan sitting next to me.

She frowned and didn't respond, but something in her expression made me feel that guilt I'd though I'd been spared. There was an uncomfortable silence for a few moments as I switched lanes. Eventually, she broke it, and what she said caught me a little off guard.

"Why did you make friends with Dennis when he first came to camp?"

"What?" I asked a little confused.

"Dennis said, that when he first got to camp, you were the only one who bothered to get to know him. Why?"

"I dunno." I said shrugging feeling a little uncomfortable as she stared me down. She seemed to really want the answer to this question, and I found it easier to stare at the road and pretend I hadn't noticed her eyes on me. "He was my age, we were in the same language lessons. We sat near each other…"

"Don't give me that." She said sounding annoyed. "He told me that no one liked the Hermes campers when he first got there. Why would you go out of your way to talk to him when no one liked our cabin?"

It was my turn to frown as I considered the question.

"I guess…" I said careful as I chose my words. "I guess it just seemed like he needed a friend."

"It didn't bother you that everyone didn't like the Hermes kids?"

"No."

"Why not?"

I shrugged.

"He was nice. I figured maybe people didn't know what they were talking about when it came to the Hermes kids."

She seemed to consider this for a moment.

"He really isn't all that nice you know."

"What?"

"Dennis." She said flatly. "Don't get me wrong. I appreciate all the help he's given me, but he's a little arrogant. He's got a temper, and he's selfish."

"What are you- he's not- how could you say that about him?" I asked furiously ready to defend Dennis but she continued.

"Look at what he tried to do to Adam, Hannah."

"He didn't do it." I reminded her. "And he stayed behind to help Adam."

At this I felt my heart skip a beat and a pang of fear go through my body. What if he didn't come back?

'Don't think like that.' I thought quickly. 'He'll be fine. He has to be.'

"Yeah, after he knew you'd be ok." Ryan continued and I suddenly felt a little dizzy.

"What are you trying to say?" I asked uncertain if I wanted to hear her answer.

"Do you really think Dennis would have given Adam a second thought if thought something was going to happen to you?"

I could feel my heart beating faster as we stopped at a light, I didn't dare look at her. I felt like something was closing in on me, a truth I didn't want to deal with. Something I was afraid to admit to myself.

"Even you have to admit he's selfish Hannah."

"Why are you so hung up on this?" I asked wanting desperately for this conversation to end. Why did she care about me and Dennis? This wasn't her business. Ryan had never really cared about what other people did. At least, I thought she hadn't.

"Anyone would protect their friends." I continued stubbornly. "What if you had to face a choice like that. What if Hades had wanted me, and he had your best friend? Wouldn't you make that trade?"

"Probably."

"So? Why does that make Dennis selfish and not you?"

"It doesn't. I'm selfish." She said with a shrug and I looked at her.

"What?"

"I'm not nice." She said easily as if admitting this was as easy to her as identifying her hair color.

"What's your point Ryan?" I asked as a car honked behind us and I saw that the light had turned green while I was looking at her. I shook my head and pushed on the gas. "What's the point in saying all this stuff? If Dennis is such a horrible person, why does everyone love him?"

"Because he met you." she said quietly

"What?" I asked confused.

"Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about." She said and she sounded irritated now.

"I really don't."

"Hannah, how can you not see that you're the person he cares most about in the world?"

I felt my hands grip the steering wheel so tight, my fingers went numb. I didn't want to hear this.

"Stop." I muttered shaking my head.

"Dennis isn't really all that nice of a person, Hannah."

"Dennis is a good person."

"I didn't say he wasn't a good person." She continued. "But he's not that nice. And if he thought the entire camp was out to get him besides our cabin, how do you think he would have reacted, huh?"

"He would have been fine." I muttered knowing the words weren't true.

"You think he would have taken persecution like that lightly?" she asked with disbelief in her tone. "Come on Hannah, you know him probably better than anyone."

"So?"

"So, Dennis can be a real jerk sometimes. But he's not most of the time. And why do you think that is?"

I didn't answer.

"It's because of you." she said quietly and I felt a strange current go through me, causing me to shiver nervously. "You were there for him when no one was really, well, outside our family, and he cares about you. It might cause him to do stupid things like screw over Adam sometimes, but on the whole, I think it's a good thing. I think you bring out the best in him."

"So, you weren't lying when you said you didn't hate me?"

"No." she said shaking her head.

"Then what did you mean when you said you hate what I do to Dennis?"

I didn't know why I asked that question. I knew I didn't want to hear the answer to it, in fact, I found myself hoping she wouldn't respond. But she did.

"Because it's obvious to everyone he's still in love with you and you're happy to just let it stay that way."

I felt my lip tremble, as my thoughts raced through my head, trying to come to my defense. He was my best friend, what was I supposed to do? Not talk to him? What was I just supposed to drop him out of my life?

"It's not like he was just waiting around." I said stubbornly. "He and Steph-"

"Oh bullshit Hannah," she said angrily. "He and Steph are just friends and you know it."

"But-"

"Besides." She said cutting me off in exasperation. "Since the day she started talking to Dennis she's been trying to get him back together with you."

This hit me like a blow to the back of the head. As if a Cyclopes had grabbed a bat and swung it at me.

"What?" I asked in total shock looking at Ryan.

"Yeah." She said with a nod. "Why do you think she invited you guys to that stupid party? Why she sat with you when you were writing letters home? Why she's been keeping girls away from Dennis all summer?"

I didn't know how to respond to this. This couldn't be right. Why would Stephanie care so much?

But deep down I knew the answer. What other reason would an Aphrodite child have to care about someone else's relationship?

Love.

"You know." Ryan said frowning. "I know everyone wants to blame Dennis for why you guys broke up. But I don't. I think you're the one who messed up."

"Me?" I asked in shock and she nodded.

"Yeah. I think you're an idiot."

"Why?"

"Because you had someone who loves you more than anything, more than the love themselves. And you let that go." She looked out the window, then continued with. "Do you know what people would do for that?"

Her voice was quiet and I had a feeling she didn't want to look at me as she said this.

"Why do you care so much about our relationship?" I asked confused.

I was surprised she was even still talking to me. Ryan never talked about anything deep, least of all with me. She usually just said something incredibly rude and then refused to engage, letting you get so frustrated you left her alone. That didn't seem to be her approach this time. She seemed really determined to get her point across.

"I don't." she said flatly. "Your guys' 'will they won't they' 'too scared to admit how you feel' thing is so typically high school, just thinking about it makes me want to stab myself to end the boredom."

"Then why are we talking about this?" I asked feeling a flare of irritation go through me. Why did Hermes kids always have to be so sarcastic? It was always sarcasm or jokes with them, you could never get a straight forward answer. Would it kill them just to speak honestly just for once?

"Because he's my brother." She said and I was surprised to hear the emotion behind her voice. "And he's unhappy."

I glanced at her, but she still wasn't looking at me.

"Even if mine in the mortal world doesn't get it, family means something, especially to Dennis and if he's taught me anything it's that you do anything you can for them. Which is why I took this."

She reached into her pocket and produced what I recognized to be Dennis's iPod.

I stared at it, a little confused before glancing back at the road.

"How long have you had this?" I asked.

"Since central park. I took it right after we realized the speaker wasn't working, and we couldn't use it to get through the door."

"But why?" I asked confused. "What does this have to do with anything?"

Her response was to press the home button and I was surprised to see the photo on the lock screen was of Dennis and I, the last time I'd dragged him to the desert.

"I'm guessing you guys started in November right? On the fourth?"

"Yeah, but how did you-?"

But she typed 11-04 into the passcode and I felt my eyes go wide when it unlocked.

"Do with that information what you will." She said shrugging and handing me the device.

His home screen was another picture, this one of just me. It was from the same day in the desert and I hadn't noticed him taking at the time as I attempted to rejuvenate a cactus flower. I always knew he'd liked the picture, but I thought he would have changed it by now. I mean, it's not like we were dating anymore…

"Hannah!" Ryan shouted fear in her voice and I looked up from the iPod, to see there was someone in the road.

I swerved to avoid them and we drove off the pavement. The car shook and skidded as we plowed in to the gravel of the shoulder and then into a ditch.

There was a couple of seconds where I knew nothing but panic, as the car continued to roll out of control. Then there was a crunching sound, the car jerked to a stop, and I felt the seatbelt strain against my neck, burning the skin it had rubbed against.

"Are you alright?" I asked coughing as smoke rose from the dashboard and I unbuckled myself.

"Yeah." She muttered then tried to open her door but it seemed to be wedged shut. The car was stuck and tilted at an angle, trapping us on her side. "What maniac just stands in the middle of the road like that?" she shouted and tried the door again with no luck. "I'm going to need to get out on the driver's side."

I scrambled out of the car, expecting to have to ward away concerned witnesses to the accident, but blinked when I took in my surroundings. I was no longer on a two-lane road in the middle of Long Island. I was in the middle of miles of meadow, surrounded by wild flowers.

"Ryan…" I said slowly turning. The weather had changed too. It was no longer the heavy heat of a humid summer morning in New York. It was light, and cool. The perfect temperature. Like morning in spring. "I think I hit my head or something because I-"

But when I turned to where Ryan should be, I didn't see her or the car.

"What the… Ryan?" I shouted turning again, searching frantically for her. "Ryan! Where did you-"

But I cut myself off as I spotted a woman, standing not too far from me in the meadow, with tan skin, curly brown hair, and eyes that looked like they were made out of pure light. She was in a flowy white dress and beamed when she saw me.

"Hannah, my darling!" she said excitedly. Flowers were woven into her hair, and as she walked, blooms seemed to spring up with each step she took. "It's so good to see you. It's been so long."

I felt my mouth fall open.

"Mom?"

"Hello sweetie," she said still beaming at me and holding her arms open for a hug.

While usually, I was always happy to see my mother, I hesitated.

"Where's Ryan?" I asked. I saw her smile fade slightly and her arms lowered. "Where are we? What is this place?"

"This." she said softly, looking around the meadow, seeming to be lost in memory as she spoke. "This is a very complicated place for me. And all my children." She glanced at me before continuing to scan the scenery around us. "This was field in which I met a complicated person, and was the last place I was seen before I came to a new home. A home to which I would eventually become queen."

Realization flooded through me as I realized where we must be. This was the place my mother had been kidnapped. Where she'd been forced to go to the Underworld with Hades.

"It all worked out for the best I guess," she said shrugging. "I was able to get away from my mother for a little while and gained a loving husband but…" she sighed. "Like I said. It's complex. I guess my marriage isn't the most straight forward of situations."

I hesitated, not really sure what to make of the predicament I was in. On one hand, I wanted to talk to my mother. There was so much controversy and confusion about the legend of her kidnapping, if she'd even really been kidnapped at all, it would be amazing to hear her side of the story, but on the other hand, I needed to get back to camp as soon as possible. I didn't have the time to talk to her as much as I wanted to.

"But you would know about complicated people, wouldn't you?" she asked looking back at me, her expression hard to read. "All the time you spend with Hermes's children. They're not a straightforward crowd, are they?"

"Look, Mom." I started awkwardly. "It's not like I'm not happy to see you, but I've really got to go."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Like I said, it's not that I don't want to see you I just, there's people at camp. They need my help and if we don't get to them in time-"

"I am aware of your situation darling." She said raising a palm and there was a flash of light, in it, rested a rose made of pure gold. "And I'm impressed, you managed to find a way to cure them without my or my husband's help."

She frowned.

"But never in my wildest dreams did I think that the camp would send you to retrieve the rose."

"Wait, what?" I asked stunned.

"Did he convince you to come along?" she asked her eyes narrowing, an ugly expression crossing her features, but a dark, also ugly feeling was creeping through me as well.

"You knew?" I asked quietly.

"He did, didn't he?"

I ignored this question to answer with one of my own.

"You knew about the campers?" I said in disbelief. "You knew and you didn't do anything to help?"

I couldn't believe this. I figured since my mother wasn't in Hades she'd have no idea about the sick campers, or who was infecting the demigods and Chiron with Stygian sleep.

"Don't be ridiculous Hannah, I'm the Queen of the Underworld, of course I knew." She snapped looking angry now. "How else was I going to lure that stupid son of Hermes into the Underworld, but I never thought he would drag you along. Stupid boy."

"You were behind this?!" I shrieked feeling blank shock go through me, but it was quickly being replaced with anger. "You were the one who was making everyone sick. All so you could get to Dennis?"

"That boy is no good for you Hannah." She said. "I knew I had to do something or no one else would."

"What, what are you talking about?" I asked quietly, feeling anger and confusion burn through me as I looked at my mother. How could she do this?

"He's a negative aspect of your life. The only negative aspect."

"He's my best friend!"

"If he was your friend, he wouldn't have brought you to the Underworld!" She said acidly. "If he cared about you at all he would have left you behind at camp. Kept you out of danger and we wouldn't be in this mess. If Zeus ever finds out that my husband had captured his son… if he knew that you'd been involved, in any capacity…"

"You're blaming Dennis?" I asked her incensed, so angry, the flowers around me were growing taller at an alarming rate. "You caused all this mess, attacked campers, caused a panic at camp half blood. And you're blaming _him_?"

I glared at her, unable to believe what I was hearing.

"He is a bad influence on you Hannah." She said through gritted teeth. "He's always stealing and getting himself into trouble. Putting himself in danger. Putting the people who care about him at risk. He doesn't think. You should have never been down there, facing monsters, wandering around the Underworld. You stole a car!"

"He asked me to come with him because he believed in me." I said coldly. "Which is more than I can say for you apparently.

I couldn't believe this, even my own mother thought I couldn't handle a mission. Thought that any kind of heroic responsibility would get me in over my head.

"And the only reason I stole that car was I was trying to help the campers, that _you_ put to sleep. And just so you know," I spat. "Dennis has been looking out for me since the day I met him." I continued feeling fury pulse through me with each heartbeat. "He's stuck up for me when I couldn't, and even then, he's always believed in me."

"He broke up with you Hannah." She said in frustration. "That thief should be out of your life. He broke your heart."

"He didn't break up with me." I said furious at how far my mother had gone with so little information.

"What?" she asked looking confused.

"I broke up with him!"

That shut her up.

"You did?" she asked eventually, seeming stunned.

"Yeah." I said quietly as realization flooded through me as I spoke the words I'd been afraid to for a while now. "I broke up with Dennis. And it was a mistake."

"But you've been so unhappy lately." She said frowning. "I thought, I thought it was because he was still in your life, that you-"

"I'm unhappy because I was lying to myself." I said quietly. "I was being too stubborn for my own good."

I still wanted to be with him.

She continued to look at me, as if she knew what was going on in my head, and couldn't quite believe it.

"But why him Hannah?" she asked shaking her head and closing her eyes, as if she couldn't understand. "You're a good girl, and he's…"

"He's what?" I asked anger spiking through me and she seemed to choose her words carefully.

"He's a trouble maker." She said though I knew if she'd had her way she'd probably have called him something else. "He has a temper, and takes risks. You two are so different."

"Some could say that about you and your husband." I said defiantly and she looked angry.

"That's different." She muttered. "You have choices, whereas I…"

"You can't help who you fall in love with." I said and she gave me a shrewd, critical look.

There was a long moment that passed between us where she scrutinized me, but eventually, she broke the silence.

"So, that's it then?" she asked. "He's the one you choose?"

"Yeah," I said with a nod. Even if we weren't dating anymore, I'd always have Dennis's back, just like I knew he'd always have mine. It had been that way since the day we met. It didn't matter if he was my boyfriend, or my best friend, or something between the two, I'd always choose Dennis over anyone else. Just like I'd know he'd choose me.

"Well, I won't say I understand it." she said quietly, shaking her head again. "But if he means that much to you, I guess you should have him back."

She snapped her fingers and in a whirl of petals, a figure formed.

"Dennis!" I said in alarm, lunging forward to catch him as his knees buckled.

"What the? Hannah?" he said sounding disoriented and looking around. "Where are we?"

"Oh, and I guess you'll be needing the Zeus boy as well." My mother said as an afterthought while Dennis looked at her warily.

She snapped her fingers, and like Dennis, Adam appeared but without having someone to support him, he crashed straight to the ground.

"Are you ok?" I asked as he struggled to push himself out of the soil.

"Fine." He said gruffly looking between Dennis and I, then to my mother. "Care to explain what's going on?"

"Where's Ryan?" Dennis asked looking around, obviously noticing she wasn't here.

But before I could answer however, the world around us started to shimmer.

"I'll be checking in." she said her eyes narrowed at Dennis, but before anyone could say anything, she vanished, and we were back on the road side.

"What the-" said a familiar voice, and we all turned to see Ryan staring at us looking more shocked then I'd ever seen her as she gestured to Dennis and Adam. "Where did you two come from?"

"What happened here?" Dennis asked looking at the car that was still in the ditch.

"Hannah stole a car."

"She did?" Dennis asked looking at me in total shock.

"We needed to get back at camp." I said scratching my head awkwardly.

"Which we still need to do." Adam said cutting us off before anyone else could speak. "We can trade stories later. Let's figure out a plan."


	24. Chapter 24

Hello all! Thank you to everyone who read/favorited/followed/reviewed. The support means a lot to me! This is the final chapter for this story, I hope you enjoyed it.

~Secrethalfblood

Dpov

Eventually, we managed to hitch a ride back to the camp boundary. I could tell Hannah felt guilty for leaving the car in the ditch, but I had to admit, my mind was still a little blown that Hannah had actually stolen it. Hannah, of all people, had stolen a car. Had the world gone mad?

We'd been swamped by campers when we first crossed the border, but the Cabin leaders got us through and accompanied us to the infirmary where all the sick campers were still asleep.

"This is it," Hannah said quietly, as one by one, each of the victims were treated with the rose.

There were a few moments, like with Ryan, where nothing seemed to happen and everyone held their breath. Suddenly, Adam let out a shout of relief and tackled Thea into a hug as she groaned then tried to sit up.

"W-What happened." Jess muttered looking confused as she rubbed her eyes and took in the infirmary around her. The other were showing signs of waking up as well. "How long have I been out? What the _hell_?"

Her eyes went wide and I looked in her line of sight, only to have my mouth fall open in shock. Ryan had gone over to Stephanie's bedside, to be there for her when she woke up, and apparently when she did, her first action was to pull Ryan into a kiss.

I looked at Hannah, who didn't look nearly as surprised as I thought she should have been, then around at the others for their reaction. Kevin looked as shocked as I felt, but neither Thea nor Adam did. It was the same for her sister Elle, who'd come to the infirmary with us to check on Laney and Stephanie.

"That explains soooo much." She said, looking at Stephanie who was now beaming at a stunned looking Ryan.

"What do you mean?" Hannah asked curiously looking at Elle, and she started to explain.

"At the start of the summer, Steph had a dream. In it, our mother said she'd meet someone very important to her from the Hermes cabin. At first, we thought that was why she was hanging out with Dennis," she nodded to me. "But," she let out a slightly amused laugh. "Guess not."

Still reeling from this revelation, I went to go check on my family and friends, but soon the infirmary was flooded with campers, all eager to hear about the mission and check on those who were affected. Eventually, several hours later, I found myself walking around the lake with Hannah.

Several people had wanted to talk to us, wanting more details about the mission, but we'd slipped off during the campfire songs hoping no one would notice. If they did, I didn't really care. I was always in trouble anyways, what was one more thing?

She'd been quiet for most of our walk, and I figured she was beating herself up about the car, but I was surprised when her hand slipped into mine.

I laced my fingers with hers, but didn't dare question the action. It felt so natural, like breathing, and I was afraid if I brought any attention to it, she'd take it away.

"How come you never changed it?" she asked suddenly.

The sun was setting, causing the water to glow orange, reflecting the sky above us as I looked down at her in confusion.

"Changed what?" I asked confused and I saw her pull something out of her pocket.

"The photo on your iPod." She said holding up the device and pressing the lock button so I saw the photo and I felt my stomach clench.

"I thought I lost that in the Underworld." I said looking away from iPod.

"You didn't change the password either." She pressed. "It's our anniversary."

"How do you know that?"

"Ryan told me. She's the one who gave it to me."

"Of course she did." I said making a mental note to strangle my sister when I had the time.

"So why didn't you change it?" she pressed and I dropped her hand, scratching the back of my neck, unsure what to say.

"I dunno Hannah." I said not wanting to have this conversation at all. "I just, we're still friends, aren't we? It isn't that weird."

"That doesn't seem like friends." She said stubbornly and I wasn't sure how to react to it.

"Fine." I said defensively. "I'll change the picture if you want. Can we just not talk about this?"

"Why not?"

"I dunno." I said shrugging not wanting to look at her.

She was still fairly roughed up from the mission, but I couldn't help but think she looked very pretty, especially in the light of the sunset. Her amber eyes were taking on its color, so that it looked almost as if they were glowing.

"What did my mom say to you?" she asked.

"I don't want to talk about that." I said feeling cold and I stopped walking.

"Dennis, you have to tell me."

"I really don't."

"But this whole thing, all the campers, the Stygian sleep, it was all about her trying to get you into the Underworld."

"So?"

"So you can't keep this from me." She said her eyes meeting mine and I looked away.

I didn't answer only continued to walk for a bit, wondering if she would follow. She did.

"Dennis, c'mon." she said jogging after me.

I continued to ignore her and looked up at the sky.

"I thought I meant more to you than this." She said and I felt something within me break.

"She said that I wasn't good enough for you," I said quietly still not looking at her. "That she was going to keep me away from you until you realized how much better your life was without me."

"She said _what_?" Hannah asked, sounding enraged, but I ignored it.

"I mean she has a point." I said looking dead ahead. "What parent would want their daughter hanging around someone like me? I steal things, I constantly cause trouble, I do things without thinking…"

"Don't say that." She said firmly. "Dennis you're the best friend I've ever had. And you're a good person."

"I'm a kleptomaniac."

"You're a _nice_ kleptomaniac." She said and I felt a small smile tug at the corner of my mouth.

I wasn't sure when our hands had separated, but she took mine again as we continued to walk.

"Besides, who cares what she thinks?" Hannah said. "My Dad likes you."

"Yeah, he doesn't know about my habits."

"But more importantly." She continued as if I hadn't spoken. "I like you. And that's what matters right?"

"Yeah. I know we're friends, it's just-"

"Yeah, about that…" she said a little awkwardly and I felt a pang of fear go through me.

Had her mother gotten to her?

"I was wondering." She said hesitantly. "You know, if you were open to it. If maybe, well," she took a deep breath, and then, being uncharacteristically bold she pushed on with. "I was wondering if you wanted to maybe give more than friends another shot."

I was stunned into stillness. I looked down at her in surprise only to see she was looking back up at me, anxious, but looking completely sincere.

"You're asking me out?" I asked her and she laughed a little nervously, then nodded.

"Yeah," she looked at her feet for a second, apparently embarrassed. "And if you don't want to that's fine. I know I'm the one who ended it but-"

"What brought this on?" I interrupted and she hesitated for a second.

"It was Ryan actually." She said, and when she caught my expression she laughed again. "Weird I know. But we were talking things over and she made me realize that, well, there's no one better for me than you."

Well, maybe I didn't have to strangle her after all…

"And it was Ryan, who made you think this?" I asked skeptically.

"I know, right?" she asked with a grin.

"Well, remind me to thank her." I said smiling as well.

"So does this mean…?" she started hesitantly and I shook my head and cut her off.

"No." I said and she looked hurt.

"But-"

"I'm supposed to ask you out Hannah." I said with a smirk and she rolled her eyes.

"What is this the 1950s?"

"You know me." I said shaking my head. "I'm very particular about how this sort of thing is done."

"Whatever Dennis." She said sounding half exasperated, half amused and I turned to face her, taking both her hands in mine. We'd made it all the way around the lake and were standing the shore next to the pier.

"Hannah."

"Dennis."

"Will you-"

"Yes," she said before I could finish my sentence then surprised me by pulling me into a kiss.

….

Several weeks had passed since we returned from our quest and over that time, a lot had happened. All of the campers and Chiron had woken up of course, and since Thea was leaving, we'd gotten a new head of our cabin. One of our sisters named Patricia. The twins and I took the transition of authority as a chance to wreak havoc, and did so with fairly good success, if Thea didn't catch us that is. On occasion, she helped.

Ryan and Stephanie had gotten together, and before I knew it, Thea and Adam's wedding was upon us.

We turned off the highway into a massive parking lot, in front of several tall twisting metal structures.

"Are you sure this is the right address?" Hannah asked uncertainly as she stared at the rollercoasters, looking a little confused.

"Yeah." I said pulling into a parking space and checking the invitation.

"Did she say anything about this?"

"No." I said with a laugh. "I guess we now know why the dress code is," I glanced at the invitation again to get the wording right. "Supremely semiformal, border line casual, I'm serious, girls do NOT wear high heels."

"I'm glad I didn't." Hannah said her eyes wide.

I grinned and we got out of the car to make our way to the front of the amusement park where a small crowd had formed. As we got closer to the entrance, I realized that the parking lot was almost completely empty. Had they rented this place out? Just how loaded was Adam's family?

"You came!" Thea said excitedly breaking from a conversation with her soon to be sister in law Daisy, and tackled Hannah and I into a hug.

"Of course." I said happily as we broke apart and she beamed at me. "You know, you could have mentioned the roller coasters."

"Where's the fun in that?" she asked brightly. She was wearing a knee length white sundress, Chucks, and her hair was down, but pulled away from her face in the clip our father had given her on her eighteenth birthday. The same day she got engaged.

She held a small bouquet of white roses, and honestly, looked exactly as I'd expect her to look on her wedding day. Totally laid back.

"Where's Adam?" I asked surprised to see her without him.

"He's already in the park." Daisy answered. "He's not allowed to see her yet. It's bad luck before the wedding."

Thea rolled her eyes.

"Daisy wanted at least some traditions. I had to pick my battles. I wanted to wear something a little more low-key but…"

She let her voice trail off indicating things had not gone her way, and Daisy looked annoyed.

"We're at an amusement park and you're not even wearing a veil!" she said rolling her eyes. "This is as low key as a wedding gets."

Thea smiled and was dragged into a conversation with her soon to be mother in law about our father, who hadn't RSVPed and was supposed to give her away.

"I honestly don't know." She said shrugging. "I wouldn't be surprised if he did show up, but wouldn't be surprised if he didn't either."

"Months of preparation." Adam's mother fretted in exasperation. "If your father doesn't show up-"

"Rest assured Nadine, the world wouldn't collapse." Said a familiar voice and Thea turned, her eyes wide, then she smiled.

"Dad!" she said happily running to him and jumping into a hug.

"Hey Thea." He said laughing returning the embrace. "You look beautiful."

"I can't believe you're here." She said beaming at our father as they broke apart.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." He said smiling back though he looked a little sad. "Hard to believe you're all grown up now, getting married…"

"Don't bum her out Dad." I said. "It's her wedding day."

Hannah giggled and he glanced in our direction.

"He's right of course." My father continued hitching another smile to his face and turning back towards Thea who suddenly screamed with excitement and pushed through the crowd of guests as he best friend Tess and her friend Blake joined the group, holding each other's hand.

The girls laughed and hugged then dragged Blake into the huddle.

"How easily I'm forgotten." My father said amused and I was startled to see he was standing right in front of Hannah and I.

He looked much sharper than I was used to seeing him in. The mail carrier uniform was gone, and instead he was in a tailored suit for the event, his brown hair was neat, and his eyes, that looked so much like Thea and Ryan's, were on Hannah.

"How are you doing son?" he continued and I saw Hannah looked just as unnerved as I felt. Apparently, she'd only just noticed him as well.

"I'm great." I said honestly. "Thea looks happy."

"Yeah." He said amused watching as Thea talked to her friends. He then turned back to us.

"So." He glanced at Hannah's hand in mine. "This must be Persephone's child."

"Yeah. Dad, this is my girlfriend, Hannah. Hannah, this is my father."

"It's nice to meet you." Hannah said extending her hand automatically.

"Yes," he said taking her hand and shaking it briefly before saying. "You've caused quite the amount of trouble for my son, haven't you?"

Hannah's eyes went wide, and she looked a little terrified, but my father laughed, a mischievous glitter in his eyes before he pulled her into a bone crushing hug.

"Sometimes a little trouble is what a boy needs to get some sense smacked into him." He said with a laugh and letting Hannah go with a wink. She looked a little relieved.

"So, what have you two been up to?" he asked giving me a mischievous smile. "Still terrorizing the camp?"

"You can catch up with your son later." Nadine scolded grabbing my father by his jacket and marching him towards the entrance of the park. "We've got details to go over since you missed the rehearsal."

"You'd think she didn't know he was a god." Hannah said looking after Adam's mother in shock at her assertiveness with an Olympian.

"That's not going to stop Nadine from having a perfect ceremony." Said Thea and we turned to see she and her friends were making their way towards the entrance as well. "Gaea herself could awaken and that wouldn't stop my future mother in law." She rolled her eyes but then grinned. "We've got to go though. Wedding party needs to start getting organized. I'll see you guys inside ok?"

"Yeah, good luck."

"Thanks bro." she said with a wink then she, Tess, and Blake met up with Daisy. Together they all walked into the park talking excitedly about the upcoming event.

"It's weird to see Tess in a dress." I said bemused. I'd never seen her outside of her camp shirt and oil stained shorts. Usually she was covered in some sort of mechanical fluid whenever I'd seen her at camp, but today she was in a light blue sundress that matched Daisy, and I knew must bet part of the wedding ensemble.

"Her boyfriend's hair is electric blue." Hannah said clearly a little stunned by this.

"Yup." I said laughing. It looked as if Blake, even if he was wearing a dress shirt and tie for the occasion, hadn't changed much. "He's an interesting individual."

"If that's what you want to call it." Someone said flatly.

I glanced up at the familiar voice, but did a double take, convinced the girl in front of me was not my sister.

"What are you wearing?" I asked and Hannah elbowed me as Ryan scowled. She was wearing a light green dress and her hair was half up, braided away from her face then fell into perfect waves down her back. She was even wearing make-up.

"Don't you dare say anything." Ryan said grumpily, holding up a finger at me in warning. "Steph did this to me."

"I think you look great." Hannah said brightly.

"Doesn't she?" Stephanie said falling out of the crowd of people and putting her arm around Ryan's shoulders. Like Ryan, Stephanie was wearing a dress, but it was purple and her dark hair was curled and pinned to one side. She had not heeded the heels advice and was wearing ridiculously tall stilettos that matched her dress, and I was convinced Hannah would break her neck in, but seemed to give Stephanie no problem.

"Think any of the boys will be jealous that my date is the hot blonde?" she continued and I could tell Ryan was trying to look annoyed, but she didn't quite accomplish it after Stephanie kissed her cheek and she smiled.

"I think they're going to be jealous of both of you." I said grinning and Stephanie laughed.

"Though we're not the only one with hot dates…" She continued smirking at me then winking at Hannah who went crimson.

"You have a date Steph," I said annoyed. "Stop hitting on mine."

She laughed again and took Ryan's hand.

"Well, we're off." She continued and Ryan looked a little confused.

"We are?"

"Yes. You've got to introduce me to your father." Stephanie said brightly.

"He's probably a little busy right now… Maybe we should wait until after the ceremony. He might not want-"

"Nonsense." Stephanie said waving this away with her usual confidence. "Look at me. Everybody wants to meet me."

Ryan rolled her eyes, but allowed herself to be dragged away into the park by Stephanie.

More people continued to arrive, and I saw several people from camp, including Kyle, Adam's best friend, who Daisy was looking at with strong interest, as well as many of the Gods.

We'd just been catching up with the twins when we were told to make our way inside the park.

"Woah," Hannah said her eyes going wide as we stepped through a lavishly decorated archway into a massive party tent decorated with white flowers, lace, and candles everywhere.

White chairs faced an alter, that too was decorated with flowers, and I saw that many people had already taken their seats. We found a place with the twins along with Stephanie and Ryan, and chatted for a bit like the others. Until music started playing.

Everyone looked back to see the groomsmen walking down aisle, I recognized Kyle and figured the rest must have been Adam's mortal friends. They were followed by Adam who was dressed far more casually than I would have expected for his wedding day, just a nice shirt and slacks, like the rest of his groomsmen, but I guess it made sense since Thea wasn't wearing a wedding dress.

After Adam, were a few girls I didn't recognize, more mortals I guessed, which included her cousin, Adam's sister Daisy, and Blake. They were followed by Tess, Thea's maid of Honor and they all went to stand on the bride's side. Suddenly, music slowed and everyone got to their feet as Thea and my father walked down the aisle.

Several people whispered, mostly on Adam's side of the family, about the informality of her dress, but I could tell from the huge smile on her face as she looked at Adam she couldn't care less. He beamed back at her, and I saw both Hannah and Stephanie wiping their eyes, smiling too.

The ceremony wasn't long which was probably a good thing, considering a good portion of the guests were related to Hermes. My mind wandered scanning the crowd, wondering if there were any good targets to pickpocket, if the twins hadn't already gotten them, that didn't have the ability to smite me where I stood. I'd just ruled out most of the Gods when the moment everyone was waiting for came.

"You may now kiss the bride."

Thea jumped into Adam's arms who easily caught her and they kissed, which was met by applause and several cheers.

She laughed as they broke apart, and together with the wedding party, they walked back down the aisle officially husband and wife.

"Thank god that's over." Ryan said and Stephanie elbowed her.

"What?" she continued defensively, rubbing her ribs. "It's hot."

"Do you ever stop thinking about yourself?" Stephanie asked rolling her eyes and Hannah laughed.

The officiant announced there would be a cocktail hour near the drop tower and we filed out with the crowd, mortals and Olympians mixing together as we made our way out of the party tent.

"You know, it might be a little weird to have a wedding at an amusement park." Hannah said as we walked to another highly decorated area with strings of paper lanterns and an open dance floor. "But I have to say, they made it work."

"It's perfect." I said with a laugh, grabbing a water for both Hannah and I and handing her one. "It's exactly the sort of thing I'd expect from Thea."

Waiters, in dark vests, were going around serving the guests that were mingling.

"I thought it was a nice ceremony." Hannah continued.

"Maybe you two will be next." Said my father's voice out of nowhere.

I gagged on my drink as his arm went around my shoulder, and Hannah went as red as a cherry.

"What? Too soon?" He asked with a mischievous smile, his eyes glittering in his usual trouble making manner.

"Go annoy Ryan and Steph." I said and he laughed.

"You know I rather like Stephanie." He said with approval in his tone. "She's a very forward individual."

"You could say that." I said amused spotting her and Ryan talking to the twins.

"Well I should get going." He said with a sigh, "daughter to dance with, her husband's downfall to plot. I'll be seeing you."

"Is he joking?" Hannah asked as he walked towards the dance floor and was out of earshot.

"I'm not entirely sure." I said uncertainly.

My father had not always been a fan of Adam, and I wasn't entirely sure how much his attitude about him had changed, but he was here, and he hadn't caused any trouble yet. That had to count for something.

We walked over to Ryan, Stephanie, and the twins, and started planning for the next time we would be at camp over winter break.

I'd just managed to steal Daisy's bracelet, who's attention was far too involved into talking to Kyle to notice, when Adam and Thea were announced.

They had the traditional first dance, then the father daughter dance, and eventually other joined them out on the floor.

It didn't take long for the wedding party to break away from the main crowd and head for the roller coasters, but I surprised myself when I found I didn't want to join them.

"Want to dance?" I asked Hannah who looked surprised, but smiled and took my hand as I led her to the dance floor.

"You don't want to go on the rides?" she asked me curiously as I spun her.

"Maybe in a bit, but I've got something better to occupy my time." I said and her smile grew.

"So your Dad's trying to marry us off." She said amused and I shook my head.

"I know, I'm not even seventeen yet."

"Oh, so when you turn seventeen. That's when I can propose?"

"You're going to propose to me?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

"I think it's a great idea." Said Stephanie as she fell out of the crowd. "It's not the 1900s any more, shake things up Hannah. I've proposed to my girlfriend several times, but she keeps saying no."

She sighed dramatically.

"Aren't you sixteen?" I asked her.

"Physically yes," she said dismissively. "But a daughter of Aphrodite knows when she's found the one."

"Where is Ryan anyway?" I asked looking around.

"The twins convinced her to go to the tea cups but they give me motion sickness, so now you two have the pleasure of my third wheeling."

"How great." I said sarcastically as Hannah tried to hide a giggle.

We ended up spending most of the night between family members and friends. I didn't get to talk to Thea or Adam much, they were constantly mobbed by other people giving them their congratulations. Eventually, Hannah and I made it to the rides, and we'd just gone up to the watch tower attraction of the park, where we could see the whole place lit up for the evening, when I found that for the first time tonight we were alone.

"Aren't these pretty?" she asked and I saw her gesturing towards a purple flower that had climbed its way up the several stories of the tower.

"Yeah." I said sparing them a glance and looking out over the park. It was a gorgeous view with mountains in the background and the lights of the wedding. A slow song was playing and I saw several couples on the dance floor.

"Dennis?"

"Yeah?" I asked looking at her noticing she sounded nervous.

"Can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"Well," she said scratching the back of her head awkwardly. "You know when we were in the Underworld, and Charon made us give up on something?"

"Yeah?" I asked confused as to where she was going.

"Ryan said, the thing that you tossed into the water, well, that it was a photo of me."

She looked a little sad as she said this and I felt a stab of guilt go through me.

"Did you really give up on me?" she asked sounding hurt.

"Hannah, it's not what you think." I started but she continued, as if she hadn't heard me.

"Because I mean," she started and her eyes began to water. "I'd understand it for you at the time, but I guess, I guess it just doesn't make sense to me because I'd never not want to be in your life. And I know things are back to normal now but knowing that you felt that way even in the past just sucks and-"

But I held up a hand and she cut herself short, looking a little embarrassed as she tried to discretely wipe the tears from her eyes.

"I didn't want you out of my life Hannah."

"You didn't?"

"No of course not, how could you think that? When I sent that picture down the river, it wasn't because I didn't want you in my life anymore. It was because, well, I'd sort of given up hope we'd ever get back together."

"Oh." She said sounding a little uncertain what to say next.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm happy with how things turned out." I said grinning and taking her hand as we turned to look at the sun setting behind the park. "But don't let it bother you, even if it hadn't worked out, I'd still rather be you friend than nothing. That's never going to change."

She paused for a moment, apparently thinking before suddenly blurting out with.

"I love you."

"Uh, what?" I asked a little surprised. Even when we'd dated before, we'd never said that.

"I love you." she said and I was surprised she wasn't looking away, she was looking straight at me, with much more confidence then I was used to from her. "Look you don't have to say it back or anything." She continued shaking her head. "I just wanted you to know."

"Well I'm glad," I said smiling. "Because I love you too."

She beamed at me and I leaned down to kiss her when an amused voice said.

"Hey, I know you guys are having sort of a moment right now, but could you keep the hormones to yourselves?"

We both looked up to see Adam and Thea, who'd obviously flown up to the roof of the observation deck, staring down at us.

"I do not want to see my little brother and his girlfriend making out on my wedding day." Thea continued.

Hannah looked a little embarrassed, but I grinned slightly as I looked at Thea.

"Why on Olympus are you guys up there?" I asked.

"This will have the best view."

"View? Of what?"

She smiled and pointed towards the far end of the park, where a loud whistling sound started and an explosion of color burst into the sky. The firework was followed by several more, and I grinned, gestured for Hannah to follow me as I climbed up next to Thea, who's head was on Adam's shoulder, her eyes reflecting the brightly colored light.

I sat next to her while Hannah sat to my right. We continued to watch the show in silence as I reflected on my summer, and how crazy things had gotten. A new sister, a brother in law, a trip to the Underworld, Hannah's new powers, being kidnapped by Persephone, and everything else.

But as I felt Hannah's fingers lace with mine, I knew I'd do it again in a heartbeat. While I knew that things might get more complicated between us, and I knew I wasn't going to see Thea very often anymore, I couldn't help but feel like right now things were perfect. That they were exactly the way they were meant to be.

Well like I said this was the final chapter, I hope you all liked the story. Thanks again for all the support it means a lot. Hope you have a good day!

~Secrethalfblood


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